DEME and FTS Participações Societárias signed a contract on March 12 for a 25-year concession to manage the access channel at the Brazilian port of Paranaguá. The agreement was finalised with Brazil’s National Secretariat of Ports and the National Waterway Transportation Agency.
The consortium, known as the Paranaguá Port Channel Company, will be responsible for the operation, maintenance, and deepening of the marine channel. This follows a successful auction in October 2025 during which the partners originally secured the concession rights.
DEME confirmed that its portion of the contract is valued at more than €300 million ($327 million). The project includes a plan to increase the draft capacity of the channel from 13.3 metres to 15.5 metres.
The Port of Paranaguá currently handles more than 70 million tonnes of throughput every year according to data from the facility. It is ranked as the second-largest public port in the country and processes agribulk, containers, and liquid bulk.
Upgrades to the nautical signalling system are intended to allow larger vessels to call at the port more efficiently, DEME noted.
Both firms confirmed they have completed all administrative steps and are beginning the mobilisation phase for the implementation of the contract.
