Brazil's Ministry of Ports and Airports and the Bahia State Port Authority are researching the reactivation of the São Francisco River waterway.
The project is intended to lower food prices and improve the supply of essential goods to cities in the interior of the country.
Spanning 1,371 kilometres between Pirapora, Juazeiro, and Petrolina, the waterway has the potential to serve 505 municipalities. Officials estimate that approximately 11.4 million people will benefit from the movement of five million tonnes of cargo in the first year.
Minister of Ports and Airports, Tomé Franca, said the reactivation improves logistical efficiency and integrates regions that depend on the river as essential infrastructure.
National Secretary for Waterways and Navigation, Otto Luiz Burlier, stated the waterway improves the regularity of cargo transport and enhances the delivery of materials.
These improvements are expected to be most significant in regions dependent on river transport. Expected goods include grains such as soybeans, maize, and cotton, as well as fertilisers, limestone, and gypsum.
The ministry highlighted that these inputs are directly linked to agricultural production costs and the final price of food.
The plan involves enhancing infrastructure through the construction of small public port facilities.
Responsibility for the waterway will be transferred from the National Department of Transport Infrastructure to the Bahia State Port Authority. The National Agency for Waterway Transportation is coordinating this reorganisation of the waterway transport governance system.