MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula announces port of Itajaí's expansion

We want to raise the standard of living of the Brazilian people, Lula said

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Thursday a R$ 844 million (US$ 148 million) investment to modernize and expand the Port of Itajaí in the southern State of Santa Catarina, under federal management since January 2025. The funds aim to enhance safety and logistical efficiency, increase port capacity to boost cargo handling, create jobs, and strengthen the local economy

Lula emphasized revitalizing the shipbuilding industry, including ship and platform construction for Petrobras, and reversing the port's privatization planned by his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. He also highlighted the importance of industry, agriculture, and maritime transport for national development to improve Brazilians’ quality of life and transform the port into a financially and economically profitable hub.

“I am here bringing employment and recovering a shipyard that was going to be privatized. We are taking it back, we are going to take over this shipyard and transform it into a highly profitable shipyard from a financial and economic point of view,” he said.

“In these two years, Brazilian industry has grown again, because a nation is made up of industry, agriculture, maritime transportation, animal husbandry, but above all, a nation is made up of the quality of life of the people who inhabit that nation. And what we want for Brazil is exactly that: to raise the standard of living of the Brazilian people,” he added.

“This is the year of the harvest, and I'm here reaping the development of Itajaí, of Navegantes, reaping the investments in Santa Catarina, and it won't be the last time I come here. You can be sure that we have much to do for this country and this state,” he further noted while praising Itajaí and its population. “Wonderful people, wonderful waters, wonderful beaches, beautiful and polite people. I'm sure you'll be proud to have set foot here one day and to have agreed to invest in this port,” he stressed.