MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil planning agency to manage fluvial ports, waterways and locks

Sailing along the Amazon basin still very much in the making

The administration of President Dilma Rousseff is working on the creation of a new agency which will be responsible for Brazil’s fluvial ports and terminals, waterways and locks. The ‘Hidrobras’ project is being drafted by the Ministries of Transport and Planning and will look after shipping in the fluvial system, “which is currently exploited far below its possibilities and potential”.

This would be the fifth agency created by the government of Ms Rousseff in three years, with her predecessor Lula da Silva creating five but in eight years. Lula da Silva incorporated the Federal administration of Infraero Services; the Blue Amazon Defence technologies (South Atlantic); the Agency of Guarantee and Guarantors Funds; the Planning and Logistics Agency, basically related to transport issues.

To these must be added two ministries, the Civilian Aviation Secretariat and the Micro and Medium enterprises Secretariat. (Besides, Brazil has 37 ministries).

“Hidrobras” would have to report to the Ministry of Transport plus the Ports Secretary that depends directly from the Executive and which is responsible for implementing the maritime terminals reform. The main reason for the creation a new agency is “the fact that fluvial ports and waterways are second priority to the sea terminals reform and the vast highways system development”.

“Countries of the dimension of Brazil do not have multimodal agencies (which address all forms of transport) but rather highly specialized secretaries and in this case the country is taking advantage of less than a third of its waterways capacity”.

“We are working in a restructuring which has one agency looking after fluvial ports and the maintenance of waterways”, said Paulo Sergio Passos, former Transport Minister.

The budget execution on fluvial transport issues in 2011 has shown how limited the effort was. In effect according to Brazilian treasury stats in 2011 there were 368 million Reais earmarked for that purpose, but only 202.6 million were invested. In 2012 the performance was even worse: only 145 million Reais out of 450 million Reais were effectively implemented.