Seatrade Maritime: Itajai Port in $159 million upgrade investment

Santos Port Authority (APS) President, Anderson Pomini, has announced investments of $158.8 million to upgrade the port of Itajai.

Italjai is the second-largest port in Brazil and is operated under the supervision of state-owned Santos Port Authority (APS), which also manages Brazil’s largest port in Santos, São Paulo state. 

The APS plans to complete the removal of the sunken ship Pallas, at an estimated cost of $12.8 million, in the first half of 2026. Negotiations are already underway with the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) for the archaeological recovery of the ship.

Pomini also presented the other works in progress: The refurbishment of the North (Navegantes) and South (Itajaí) docks to increase the safety and manoeuvrability of vessels; the VTMIS system as water traffic monitoring technology with an investment of $12.2 million; and $3.8 million to upgrade substations and lighting, enabling safer night-time operations.

The customs area will be expanded by 60,000 square metres, with new scanners ($2.3 million) and modernised gates ($0.56 million); an integrated real-time truck monitoring system to reduce logistical bottlenecks and urban impact; the implementation of SmartPorto for $5.6 million to provide smart cameras and integrated security monitoring.

The Cruise Terminal project involves $56.5 million with a Master Plan scheduled for February 2026, which seeks to consolidate Itajaí as a maritime tourism hub.