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Pernambuco

Page history last edited by Brian D Butler 1 year, 5 months ago

 

 

Pernambuco:

State in Brazil.  Capital is Recife

 

 

General Information about Recife

 

hot, always sunny, poor but beautiful, a bit dangerous, exciting....and a always interesting (ah, Brazil....)

 

Recife is the financial hub for the Northeast of the country with many of the regional banks. Recife is also the state capital and the most powerful city in the Northeast. With a metropolitan area of 3.6 million people, and is considered to be the most important cultural, economic, political and science-minded city in this region. There is a major international port which ships most of the Northeast trade with the US and Europe. Also, there is a new and very modern airport.

 

Recife (pronunciation (help·info) IPA: he'sifi) (Portuguese for reef), 2005 population 1.515.052 (3.646.204 in the metropolitan area) is the second largest city in the Northeastern Region of Brazil, the largest metropolitan area and the most important cultural, economic, political and science-minded city in this Region. It is the fifth largest metropolitan area in Brazil and the capital of Pernambuco. Recife is also where the Beberibe River meets the Capibaribe River to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a major port on the Atlantic Ocean. Recife is served by Guararapes International Airport

 

 

 

Table of Contents:


 

 

See Also, our guide to Brazil: related pages:  Rise of purchasing power in emerging markets ,  Economic DevelopmentBolsa Familia , Brazil: Economy ,

 

 

 

Economy in General

 

The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 57.4%, followed by the industrial sector at 33.1%. Agriculture represents 9.5% of GDP (2004). Pernambuco exports: sugar 35.6%, fruit and juice 12.6%, fish and crustacean 12.3%, electric products 11.1%, chemicals 7.1%, woven 5.6% (2002). Participation in the Brazilian economy: 2.7% (2004).

 

The economy itself base in the agriculture (sugarcane, manioc), livestock farming and creations, as well like in the industry (alimentary, chemical, metallurgical, electronic, textile). The state has to second bigger industrial output of the Northeast, stayed behind barely of the Bahia. In the period of October 2005 to October 2006, the industrial growth of the state was the biggest second of Brazil - 6.3%, more of the double of on average national in the same period (2.3%). Another segment that deserves highlight is the of mineral extrativism. The pole gesseiro of Araripina is the supplier from 95% of the plaster consumed in Brazil. The pole of data processing of the Recife - Digital Port - despite of created there is barely 6 years, is between the five biggest of Brazil. Employ around three thousand persons, and has 3.5% of participation in the PIB of the state. 

 

 

Bolsa Familia & economic development

 

While the program bolsa familia is often criticised as a handout from the government to the poor, it can also be argued that this program was a critical key component of the consumer class boom from 2007 to 2008, which then led larger companies to make large bets on projects to serve the new emerging consumer classes.

 

One example is the regional Economic Development boom that is planned between 2008-2010 in the Brazilian NE state of Pernambuco.  As a result of rising incomes, available credit, the "Bolsa Familia" program, and of the strengthening currency (vs the weak dollar), suddenly Brazilian consumers are feeling wealthy as never before, and they are buying cars, and commercial goods like never before.   In response, you see massive developments in and around the port of Suape, such as the massive wheat mill from Bunge, or the auto distributors, oil refineries, ship building, steel mills, etc.  (see more in our coverage of Pernambuco). 

 

see more in our discusson:  Brazil: Economy

 

 

Suape - major port development

article about developments in Suape:  In portuguese:  here  Translated:  here 

 

Brazil's federal energy company Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) and the Pernambuco state government signed an investment contract for 475mn reais (US$288mn) to develop the Suape port and industrial complex, local financial newspaper Valor Econômico reported.  The works will lay the foundation for the installation and operation of the Abreu e Lima refinery. Initially, Petrobras will hand over some 310mn reais to the state to carry out improvements, such as dredging, to the port structure.  These resources will be discounted over 25 years from tariffs that Petrobras has to pay the state government once the refinery starts operations. The remaining 165mn reais will be invested by the company in its own works to prepare for the refinery.

 

 

 

 

 

Refinery for Oil

 

Petrobras refinery is biggest project in Pernambuco

 

Petrobras and its Venezuelan counterpart PDVSA have a partnership agreement to build the Abreu e Lima refinery. Petrobras will hold a 60% stake in the project and PDVSA the balance. Investments in the refinery will reach US$4.05bn. Oil-processing capacity will be 200,000b/d, 50% from Brazil and 50% from Venezuela. "The plant is expected to go online in the second half of 2010 and reach full capacity in 2011.

 

Effect of the credit crisis / drop in oil prices:

 

Petrobras Says It May Build Refinery Without PDVSA...see news here:  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aI1WixD9v7j4&refer=latin_america

 

 

What will the Refinery produce?

 

Some 65% of the processed volume will be diesel, the oil derivative most used in Brazil," Petrobras said earlier this year.  The refinery will also produce LPG, petrochemical naphtha and coke.

 

Abreu e Lima will be able to process 200,000b/d of oil, 814,000m3/y of petrochemical naphtha, 322,000t/y of LPG, 8.8Mt/y of diesel fuel and 1.4Mt/y of oil coke per year.  The new refinery's main production focus is on diesel fuel, particularly for supplying increased demand for derivatives in the northeast, Petrobras said.

 

 

How is Venezuela involved?

Petrobras aims to partner with PDVSA on the project, although the latter's participation depends on an asset swap deal between the two companies.  Petrobras plans to have a 40% stake in the Carabobo oilfield in Venezuela, with PDVSA being the controlling partner with a 60% interest. In turn, PDVSA would have a 40% stake in Abreu e Lima and Petrobras would be entitled to the remaining 60%.  Petrobras CEO José Sérgio Gabrielli said the refinery would be built with or without PDVSA.  The refinery could process crude from Venezuela's extra-heavy Orinoco crude belt.

 

President Lula supposedly pressured Petrobras to partner with PDVSA.  Why?  Hes hoping for exchanged rights to explore for oil in Venezuela, as well as combined deals in Bolivia.  It looks like political goals over economics.

 

More news about the refinery:

23 January 2008
With prospects of receiving R$20.2 billion (US$11.2 billion) of the R$80.4 billion (US$44.9 billion) earmarked to be spent in the Northeast by the federal government's Program to Accelerate Growth (PAC), the Pernambuco state government reports a positive balance in the first year of the PAC, which last July had R$1.6 billion (US$893.8 million) in the kitty to execute projects and works in sanitation, urbanization and popular housing.

 

For 2008, the state has secured another R$864 million (US$482.6 million), for the State Secretariat of Hydraulic Resources, and R$532 million (US$297.2 million) for the Cities Secretariat, this one headed by former health minister Humberto Costa.

 

The biggest PAC investment in the state, the Abreu e Lima petroleum refinery, budgeted at R$9 billion (US$5 billion), is being built by Petrobras in the Suape Industrial and Port Complex. At the same locale, the works of Estaleiro Atlântico Sul shipyard, a private undertaking, was included on the state PAC because it has loans from the national development bank, the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES).

 

The initial generation of jobs at the Suape work sites reflects just the initial impact on the state economy. The works in sanitation, supply and housing could revolutionize cities in the hinterland of the state and the metropolitan region of Recife with tap water, sewage sanitation and housing.

 

OIL: Pernambuco state donates land for construction of refinery
16 August 2006

The Pernambuco state government on Wednesday formalized the donation of a 420 hectares property, located in the Suape Port and Industrial Complex to Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras, for the construction of the Nordeste Refinery - Abreu e Lima.  The company's Supply director Paulo Roberto Costa explained that despite the dispute among several states for the construction of the unit, Pernambuco was chosen due to technical factors. According to him, the state offered adequate port infrastructure, a structured industrial section, commitment with water and energy infrastructure, and also because the state is the second-largest market in the Northeast, behind only Bahia.

 

Worth US$2.8 million in investments, the refinery will become operative in the second half 2011, and will process 200,000 barrels per day, which will supply the whole North and Northeast of Brazil.

 

Possible partnership with Indian Group: "Reliance"

 

Brazilian oil giant Petróleo Brasileiro S/A, or Petrobras, wants to have Indian group Reliance as its partner in petrochemical projects in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco, business daily Valor Econômico reported.  Reliance is India's largest private-sector group, with annual net revenue of around $35 billion.  Petrobras is particularly interested in Reliance's experience with PTA (purified terephthalic acid), raw material used in the manufacturing of polyester fibers and PET resins. 

 

 

Ship yard "estaleiro"  Camargo Correa

 

The yard in Pernambuco will be built by a consortium led by Camargo Corrêa with the participation of major groups such as pernambucano Queiroz Galvão, Andrade Gutierrez, Aker Promar and Korean giant Samsung. Besides Pernambuco, the vessels must be built in three yards of Rio de Janeiro (Mauá Jurong, Eisa and Keppel Fels) and one of Santa Catarina (Itajaí).  Through the advice of the press, the Camargo Corrêa confirmed that it is negotiating with the government of Venezuela to obtain some of the orders.

 

According to him, the order of tankers for large shows that the Brazilian industry is able to compete in foreign markets. But the very Transpetro already showed concerns about the capacity of the Brazilian industry meet the orders, as the single batch of vessels with price known until now, the derivatives of the oil-for Mauá Jurong, has nearly doubled billed by the international market.

 

 

BNDES financing facility yard in Suape, in Pernambuco

 

 

Rio de Janeiro - The National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES) announced today (10) the approval of funding in the amount of $ 513.4 million for the installation of Estaleiro South Atlantic Industrial Complex and the Port of Suape ( EP). Resources are from the Merchant Marine Fund (FMM) and corresponds to 77% of total investment.

 

The president of BNDES, Demian Fiocca, said the operation was possible thanks to the recent establishment of a methodology for classifying risk of financing of projects, aiming to more complex operations. This methodology is focused in the area of infrastructure. The so-called "project finance" are operations that allow the bank to release the shareholder, in a time of funding, the guarantee of the loan.

 

In the South Atlantic, the BNDES had already approved funding to the yard for the production of ten ships - tank that constitute the batch of 26 vessels will be built in the first phase of the Program for Modernization and expansion of the fleet of Transpetro, a subsidiary of Petrobras. The funding has value of $ 2.47 billion.

 

"The beginning of that process is the decision to increase the orders of Petrobras in the internal market," said Fiocca. Was approved in the first place the production of vessels, from there, now, for the installation of the yard. "Here we approve the two things. about a month ago, ships for Transpetro. And, the safety of the order of ships, the investor group now receives the yard and gave way to works, "he informed.

 

Fiocca explained that the novelty of the operation is to finance large volume in the beginning of a project, not the expansion, as might be more convenient and traditional for the bank. "Financing from scratch is something more challenging," he assessed.

 

With capacity for processing of 100 tons / year of steel for ship building of large, platforms and floating structures, the South Atlantic will be the largest shipyard of the hemisphere. The project envisages the creation of five million jobs directly and about 20 thousand indirect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadia

 

Sadia will plant 3.5 million native trees for the formation of forests that will be preserved. The reforestation calls for the absorption of approximately 400 tonnes of CO2 for each hectare planted. 'It is no longer feasible for a company to think it can grow without taking care of the environment. If a company is not sustainable it will not have consumers or anyone to buy its shares. This factory will not pollute the water or water sources or springs,' said Tomazoni. He believes that a possible carbon zero stamp will help exports.

 

The new unit, the company's first in the Northeast, will be built in January, in Vitória de Santo Antão, and will generate 1,350 direct jobs and nearly 4,000 indirect jobs. According to Tomazoni, the project is part of the US$1.12 billion that the company will invest in 28 months to double production in the next five years

 

 

 

Steel mill near Suape

 

CSN:

Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) has announced construction plans for a steelmaking facility in the Suape industrial and port complex, in northeast Brazil`s Pernambuco state. The plan was unveiled by CSN production executive director, Enéas Garcia Diniz, and state governor, Eduardo Campos, in Pernambuco state capital Recife on Thursday. The 3.5 million tpy plant will require an investment of $6 billion. It will focus on the production of flat and long high-quality steel products for the household appliance and automobile industries, among others. Construction of the Pernambuco plant is expected to start in 2009, while the unit is due to be fully operational in six years. CSN also has plans to set up two greenfield steel mill projects in southeast Brazil`s Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states, due to start operations in 2012 and 2013, respectively (MB May 20). Also in Pernambuco, executives from Spanish steelmaking group Celsa recently visited the state to discuss a possible steel project there.

 

Gerdau:

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 .- One week after Brazilian steelmaker CSN (NYSE: SID) announced a US$6bn investment to build a steel mill in the state of Pernambuco, the state reported on its website Wednesday that long steel manufacturer Gerdau (NYSE: GGB) has also shown interest in building a plant in the northeastern state. Gerdau has requested tax incentives for the project and in principle is considering investing US$400mn in the first phase.  In Pernambuco, Gerdau already owns the Açonorte mill, which has capacity of 250,000t/y rolled products.  Gerdau is the largest steel producer in the Americas.

 
Pernambuco disputes Spanish steel mill
16 February 2007
 

 

Recife (Pernambuco), 02/16/2007 - The trip of Pernambuco governor Eduardo Campos (Brazilian Socialist Party/PSB) to the Iberian Penninsula, from where he returned yesterday, took the state into the dispute for a US$150 million project of Spanish steelmaker Añón, which already had evaluated the Brazilian states of Goiás, Bahia and Santa Catarina as potential locations for its first steel mill in the country.

 

Campos maintained contacts with Portuguese and Spanish investors in the areas of hostelry, leisure real estate projects, and steelmaking. In Spain, in a visit with executives of the Añón group, he formally communicated his state's in disputing the cite of the steel mill that the company plans to install. The governor presented a document to the president of the Spanish investment group, Epifânio Campo, presenting all the necessary information to win the dispute with the other states and assure construction of the steel mill in the area of the industrial port complex of Suape, 50 kilometers south of Recife.

 

According to sources in the Pernambuco Secretariat of Economic Development, until governor Campos traveled to Spain, the steel mill was headed for Nova Gloria (Goiás state).

 

 

Electricity for Suape:

 

Thermoelectric power:

 

The Brazilian Mines and Energy Ministry has allowed local power firm Energetica Suape II to operate as an independent electricity producer, local media reported on June 23, 2008.  Energetica Suape II will build and operate the combustion oil-fuelled 355.68 MW Suape II thermoelectric power plant (TPP), in the northeastern Pernambuco state.

The independent electricity producers in Brazil are entitled to sell their surplus energy and to distribute energy to large consumers, paying concessionaires for using the transmission lines. The main difference between an independent producer and a concessionaire in Brazil is that the producers operate at their own risk, mainly based on free competition, while the concessionaires are subject to specific public service rules, including participation in sharing obligations and advantages of the interconnected energy system.

 

 

 

Wind Energy

 

Brazil: Impsa sets up wind power generators plant at Suape
 
14 November 2007
  

Impsa announced investments of R$143mil to set up a wind power generating equipment at Suape port, Recife (Pernambuco), via the subsidiary Wind Power Energia. The plant should start operations May 2008 with capacity for 200 wind power generators per year totalling 1,5 Mw. All equipment over the first 18 months is for the captive consumption of Impsa that has its own wind mill projects. At Santa Catarina and Ceara states Impsa has US$600mil worth of projects that would generate 317 Mw. Further investments are to build wind power capacity by 300 Mw comments head honcho Luis Pescarmona. In any case the Suape plant is to either supply to the captive consumption or sell wind power equipment to the national or international markets generating a R$800mil income. In 2009 the Suape plan is also to manufacture tower and other milling equipment. The only local manufacturer so far is Wobben, based t Ceara state. 

 

read more:

 

Federal Funding

 

PAC:  growth acceleration plan - money for the northeast region:

Brazil, Monday, March 31, 2008 .- Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced the northeastern region will receive 80.4bn reais (US$46bn) from the federal government's growth acceleration plan PAC.

"It is a time of large public and private investments which also implies high expectations from society," Lula said during his weekly radio program Café com o Presidente (Breakfast with the President).

Part of the PAC plan for the northeastern region is the construction of the Transnordestina railway, linking Suape port in Pernambuco state to Pecem port in Ceará state. It will also pass by Piauí state Eliseu Martins city.

"The 1,600km railway will link a region that was isolated due to lack of infrastructure," the president said.

Other projects for the region include the construction of the Atlântico Sul shipyard, earthmoving works for the construction of the Abreu Lima refinery - which will be carried out under a joint venture between Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and Brazilian Petrobras - and the São Francisco channel, which will transport water to Ceará, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte states, benefiting 12mn people.

Bahia state will have a railway connecting Ilhéus port to Tocantins state Alvorada city, with a 1,400km extension, the Gazene project for a gas pipeline that will link the southeast to the northeast and duplication works on the BR-116 highway will connect the Bahia-Minas Gerais border to Minas Gerais city Itanhomi.

"All [these projects] will mean a significant change in the northeast," Lula said.

 

 

More Economic activity in Pernambuco

 

not necessarily driven by port investments

 

Logistics investments

 

Along with the expanding port of Suape, there should be opportunities for investments in logistics:

 

example:    Cyrela Commercial Properties, specialised into non residential estate, is investing into distribution & storage centres to be planted in several locations in Brazil and rented to logistics operators. Two centres at Suape port (Pernambuco) and Dutra highway (Sao Paulo) are being developed at costs of R$64mil and R$100mil, respectively and should be ready by mid 2009. Other two facilities are in the pipeline nearby ports and airports, and two other more near large cities, one to be based in Rio de Janeiro with average investments of R$80mil each. Cyrela already owns three distribution centres in the Castello Branco roadway (Sao Paulo), while 6,7% of the gross income from Jan - June 2008 is generated from these operations; renting of corporate buildings accounts for 55,1% of it; other 34,3% is from renting of shopping centres.

 

 

Power Generators market

 

Brazil: Leon Heimer wants go international
23 March 2006
 

 

Power generators manufacturer Leon Heimer, based at Recife (Pernambuco) is reorganizing and modernizing prior to go international. The company developed a generator directed to win external markets, and with this expects to raise exports from US$9,4mil in 2005 to US$30mil in 2006. Over the last two years it invested R$15mil in an exports oriented unit. In 2005 Leon Heimer had sales of R$99mil and set as goal R$160mil for 2006, pushed by exports. In 2006 it should manufacture 5,000 generators, 50% earmarked for exports. Also plans are to set up a plant abroad and raise capital floating shares n the stock market.

 

 

 

Retailing

 

Brazil: Renner expands in the Northeast
30 May 2006
 

 

The department store Lojas Renner is planning to inaugurate new stores at Recife (Pernambuco) and Salvador (Bahia) during the second half of 2006, confirming the group intention of growing business in the Northeast region. Investments that were of R$50mil last year, are up to R$110mil this year. Renner will end 2006 first half with 72 stores and 7,000 employees. Jose Gallo, president, said the goal is opening eight stores per year in Brazil until 2009, adding the company considers the possibility of keeping additional 15 stores in the Northeast region, besides the ones that were already opened. During 2007, at least four units will be inaugurated in the region (three of them confirmed at Maceio, Joao Pessoa and Aracaju), which earmarked 50% of investments.

 

 

 

Perfumes

 

Brazil: Olore builds perfumes presence in Sao Paulo
27 April 2006
 

 

Olore Paris Parfums, that imports fragrances from France and manufactures perfumes in Recife (Pernambuco), is engaging in a TV campaign to launch a new line of perfumes targeted to A, B, C consumers with affordable perfumes. Currently Olore has 16 perfumes, nine of which for males, and is building a presence in the South and Southeast regions since 2003, after consolidating in the North and Northeast regions. The company report a 225% increase on business in 2004 and 130% in 2005, and plans 100% in 2006, with Sao Paulo to account for 20 of its estimated growth.

 

 

 

Shoes : Flip Flop makers

 

SHOES: Dupe wants to make 25mn sandals in 2006
4 October 2006

 

Brazilian flip flop shoe manufacturer Sandálias Dupé, a subsidiary of Pernambuco based business group Tavares de Melo, has invested R$ 3.5 million in its Carpina plant (Pernambuco state) to increase its annual shoe output from 24 million produced last year to 25 million in 2006. The company recorded a revenue of R$ 84 million in 2005 and is Brazil's second largest flipflop manufacturer. Dupe exports to 30 countries

 

 

 

 

 

Packaging industry

 

Rexam to export 2bn lids from Recife in 2007
11 June 2007
 

 

UK packaging firm Rexam plans to export 2bn aluminum lids in 2007 from its facility in Recife, capital of Brazil's Pernambuco state, the subsidiary said in a statement.

By comparison, shipments abroad reached about 1bn lids last year.  The Recife unit plans to ship 120mn aluminum lids to Sweden by September, the statement said, adding the facility in northeastern Brazil will solely focus on exports starting in 2008.  Meanwhile, Rexam is mulling plans to install three new facilities in Brazil based on its outlook of increasing consumption in the South American country and other regions, financial daily Gazeta Mercantil reported.  Rexam also operates in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico, and has formed a JV for a recently built beverage can plant in Guatemala.

 

 

 

 

 

Sugar (and ethanol)

 

Pernambuco will account for 30% of the total 50 million tonnes the northeastern region will harvest in the 2006/07 harvest. Brazil as a whole might harvest 415 million tonnes this season.

 

Pernambuco State has the 5th highest sugarcane Brazilian production. Brazil is by far the largest producer of alcohol fuel in the world, typically fermenting ethanol from sugarcane and sugar beets. The country produces a total of 18 billion liters annually, of which 3.5 billion are exported, 2 billion of them to the US.

 

Alcohol cars debuted in the Brazilian market in 1978 and became quite popular because of heavy subsidy, but in the 80's prices rose and gasoline regained the leading market share.

But from 2004 on, alcohol is rapidly rising its market share once again because of new technologies involving hybrid fuel car engines called "Flex" by all major car manufacturers (Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, Peugeot, Honda, Citroën, Fiat, etc.). "Flex" engines work with gasoline, alcohol or any mixture of both fuels. As of February 2007, approx. 80% of new vehicles sold in Brazil are hybrid fuel. Because of the Brazilian leading production and technology, many countries became very interested in importing alcohol fuel and adopting the "Flex" vehicle concept. On March 7, 2007, US president George W. Bush visited the city of São Paulo to sign agreements with Brazilian president Lula on importing alcohol and its technology as an alternative fuel.

 

 

Pernambuco has best crop in years
6 December 2007
 

 

The 2007/08 sugarcane harvest in Pernambuco state will be the best in recent years, with an estimated 18 million tonnes of cane crushed. The volume represents 13% of the 58 million tonnes that should be crushed in the Northeast and the states of Amazonas, Pará and Tocantins. In these regions of the North and Northeast, production should be up 11.24%, according to the government's Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab).   Based on November numbersd, the sugar-and-alcohol sector foresees the production of 4.3 million tonnes of sugar and 1.9 billion liters of ethanol.

 

Most of the sugar (2.3 million tonnes) will be exported to Russia, the United States, and countries in North Africa, the Middle East and East Europe. Of the thenol, 500 million liters will go to export markets, reaching South Korea, Japan, Sweden and also North Africa and the United States.

 

In this harvest, Pernambuco, the second largest producer in the Northeast after Alagoas and the biggest generator of jobs per 1,000 tonnes collected, will produce 1.65 million tonnes of sugar and 370 million cubic meters of ethanol. Even with the 12% growth over the previous harvest, the Pernambuco growers are beginning to feel the weight of a sugar glut on the international market.

 

According to sector sources, the revenues should be around R$1 billion (US$556 million), about 35% less than from the previous harvest. 'It is a very difficult year, aggravated by the flagging dollar, which affects the results of exports and of domestic prices,' said one. Falling prices on the international market have dropped below production costs.

 

 

 

Education

 

Recife is home to several higher education institutions, notably several public-owned universities:

 

Most important for technology:   

UFPE - Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Federal University of Pernambuco)

 

 

Others

Universidade Católica de Pernambuco — Unicap (private, ran by the Catholic Church, paid);

Universidade de Pernambuco — UPE (state-owned, free);

Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco — UFRPE (federal, oriented to agriculture, free);

Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Pernambuco — CEFET-PE (technological college, federal, free);

Faculdade de Tecnologia de Pernambuco — FATEC-PE (technological college, state-owned, free).

 

 

 

Medicine

 

The Metropolitan area of Recife has the 2nd largest medical pole of Brazil, after São Paulo. They formed for 417 hospitals and clinical, that medical pole offers a total of 8,2 thousand beds and, second the Union of the Hospitals of Pernambuco, recorded in 2000 an invoicing of 220 millions of real. It is graces to the pole that Pernambuco arranges of more devices of tomografia computerized than countries as Canada or the France. Good part of the modern hospitals that integrate the pole is located between the neighborhoods of the Derby and of the Island of the Milk. The Real Hospital Português de Beneficência em Pernambuco, or Hospital Português (Portuguese Hospital) for short, is one of the most renowned hospitals in the country. Many people from neighboring states go to Recife for treatment, once it has the largest and best prepared medical facilities in the North-Northeast of Brazil. Recife has three universities of medicine, 2 public, Federal University of Pernambuco and University of Pernambuco; and 1 private, Escola Pernambucana de Medicina FBV/IMIP (Medical School of Pernambuco FBV/IMIP).

 

 

 

Pharmaceutical

 

Novartis will have factory of vaccines in Pernambuco

 

A multinational drugs Novartis will install in Goiana, Pernambuco, a unit for the production of vaccines aimed mainly for export

 

The president of Novartis in Brazil, Alexander Triebnigg, said that the internal market was the main attraction for the choice of Brazil, highlighted the potential Brazilian as the main attraction for the choice, in addition to economic stability, respect for intellectual property, qualification of personnel and provision of government to invest in Health

 

The new factory of Novartis, which is already the largest exporter of medicines in Brazil, should enter into operation in 2012, with investments that could reach $ 500 million, according Temporão. The Minister of Health stressed the importance of the project to reduce the "vulnerability" of Brazil in this sector, which already involves annual deficit of $ 5 billion in the sector trade balance.

 

Temporão said that Novartis still keep program of scientific technical cooperation with the Foundation Oswado Cross-Fiocruz, to transfer of technology in the development and production of vaccines.

 

The Minister of Health, Jose Gomes Temporão, said yesterday that the laboratory Swiss Novartis will invest US $ 15 million to build a plant in Pernambuco of vaccines against meningitis. According to the Minister, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) will finance part of the venture. Temporão believes the factory in Goiana, to the north of Recife, could be ready by 2012.

 
 
 

Profarma inaugurates distribution center

24 January 2007
Profarma, a company in the pharmaceutical sector, has inaugurated a distribution center in Recife, Pernambuco state. According to its chairman, Sammy Birmarcker, the new unit demanded BRL 1 million investment. It has capacity to store 1.4 million – 1.8 million units, and will employ 100 people.

 

 

Profarma has just inaugurated its ninth pharmaceuticals distribution center, located at Recife (Pernambuco), aiming to increase its market share in the Northeast region, the third leading consumer of pharmaceutical products in the country. Its new distribution center would attend Alagoas and Paraiba states, besides Pernambuco as well, which together will create a market similar to Bahia's market. Profarma currently reports turnover of R$116mil and has 17% market share in Bahia state, where already boasts a distribution center. The firm is one of the three largest pharmaceutical products distributors in Brazil, together with Panarello and Santa Cruz. Profarma invested R$1mil to set up the Recife distribution center and was its first move after expanding infrastructure, since it has started to float shares in the exchange market. It managed to obtain R$401mil with such operation and intent to use this money for financing acquisitions in areas and segments where does not operates.

 

 

 

 

Biomedical

 

PHARMACEUTICALS: Hemobrás to build plant in Pernambuco
12 May 2006
 

 

RECIFE (PB), 5/12/06 - The Brazilian government and the government of Pernambuco state have firmed a deal for the creation of a hemoderivative and pharmacochemical industrial center in the state.

 

The first step was the cession of a 25 hectare property in the municipality of Goiana to hemoderivative and biotechnology company Empresa Brasileira de Hemoderivados e Biotecnologia (Hemobrás), and the announcement of the creation of pharmacochemical company Lafepe Farmoquímico.

 

 

 

 

Technology

 

Porto Digital - Information technology center

 

Recife has a modern Information Techonoly area (called "Digital Port" ("Porto Digital")), attracting investments. Advantage are of R$100.000.000 reais every year. It produces computer Chips and Programs, which are exported to Japan, China and other countries

 

If we want to attract local tech help in Recife, it is very easy and affordable. Recife is home to one of Brazil's top computer science university programs; the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) which boasts one of the best computer-science departments in all of Latin America. The school began teaching programmers to use Sun Microsystems Inc.'s (SUNW ) Java language in 1996, the year it was introduced. Professors at the school also teamed up to launch Centro de Estudos e Sistemas Avançados do Recife (C.E.S.A.R), a business incubator that has played a vital role in the birth of some 30 companies.

 

Recife has an area of town called “Porto Digital” that is a very important technology center for the entire country. In this area, we find a cluster of advanced technology companies with Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) such as Microsoft, Oracle, Microsoft, Nokia and Siemens.

 

 

 

Brazil: Porto Digital expands IT complex at Recife
3 July 2006

 

The 100 IT companies gathered in Porto Digital complex at Recife (Pernambuco), are to post sales of R$500mil until end 2006 leading managers to expand the area to host more companies. Plans are to add 32,000 m2 of area and invest R$3,5mil in infrastructure creating the Recife Digital Center. In 2001 only three companies were at Porto, and 50 new companies set up operations there over the last two years. So far investments from the public administration in the area were R$35mil, while companies invested R$50mil. Further plans include to create the Information Technology Business Center (ITBC) in a 13,500 m2 area nearby

 

 

 

Problem:  Labor shortages at the "Porto Digital" 

 

Information Technology runs risk of "going out"
 
13 February 2006
 

 

For Valério Veloso, director-president of Porto Digital of Recife (Pernambuco), the Information Technology (IT) sector already threatened with the possibility of suffering an "extinguishing" of specialized labor. "Professional capacitation is a problem for us. In a general manner, the efficiency of the education system is very low," said Veloso, adding that currently for each 100 curriculums that reach the Center of Advanced Studies and Systems of Recife (Cesar), only an average 13 are really prepared to participate in the selective process.

 

Based on data from the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) government statistics office, Cesar noted that about 30,000 persons are trained in courses of computer engineering and science. However, only about 20% of these are really qualified for the market. "The emergence of private faculties increased the scale, but the quality suffered greatly," said Veloso

 

 

 

Recife: A Hot Incubator For Tech Startups

Recife's business park is helping power a $10 billion industry in the country

 

In a darkened room in Recife, Brazil, a half-dozen youths peer at glowing computer screens, battling it out in a multi-user game. This is no cybercafé, but rather the offices of Jynx Playware, a budding Brazilian designer of computer games aiming for sales of $400,000 this year. "The first requirement if you want to work here is you have to be a gamer," says André Araujo, 32, one of Jynx's five founding partners.

 

Think of the global information-technology industry, and your first thought isn't of Brazil. Yet Brazil's IT industry has been growing at a 10% annual clip since 2000, according to São Paulo researcher E-Consulting Corp., and now boasts sales of $10 billion a year. Exports of high-tech goods and services should rise from around $500 million last year to $2 billion by 2007, predicts Trade Minister Luiz Fernando Furlan.

 

Recife's Porto Digital, a business park in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, shows how it can be done. The colonial town's once-crumbling port district is now home to Jynx and 84 other IT startups employing 2,000 people and generating combined revenues of some $100 million. "It has all grown much more quickly than we expected," says Valério Veloso, a former investment banker who in May became president of the public-private sector initiative, launched in 2000, to support new ventures. To get the project off the ground, the state government kicked in $18.3 million, while the city of Recife and the federal government have pitched in with tax incentives and cheap loans.

 

PARENT OF 30 COMPANIES

Porto Digital's startups can count on a ready pool of talent, courtesy of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), which boasts one of the best computer-science departments in all of Latin America. The school began teaching programmers to use Sun Microsystems Inc.'s (SUNW ) Java language in 1996, the year it was introduced. Professors at the school also teamed up to launch Centro de Estudos e Sistemas Avançados do Recife (C.E.S.A.R), a business incubator that has played a vital role in the birth of some 30 companies.

 

One of C.E.S.A.R'S star progeny is Jynx. The 20-person operation uses artificial intelligence and cutting-edge graphics software developed in-house to produce sophisticated virtual-reality games for use in business training. It has also developed so-called advergames for Coca-Cola Co.'s (KO ) Brazilian Web site and for Brasil Telecom, an operator partly controlled by Telecom Italia. Another C.E.S.A.R offspring is Meantime, a maker of games for mobile handsets whose clients include Motorola Inc. (MOT ) and Verizon (VZ ). "Games are one of the most complex areas of computer programming," says Roberto Soboll, Motorola's director of engineering for Latin America. "In Recife they understood that early on and began teaching games programming at the UFPE. The idea is not to create experts in games but to develop complete software developers."

 

Porto Digital won't turn Brazil into an India overnight. And many in the industry feel the government should be doing more to promote IT development. "If you look at South Korea, they have become the global standard for network games because the government decided to invest in connectivity and training," says Ivair Rodriguez, a São Paulo analyst at global IT consultancy IDC. Still, Rodriguez stresses that Brazil does have world-class talent, especially in Java, open software, and electronic security -- all fields in which the Porto Digital companies are strong. If high-tech startups can flower in one of Brazil's least-developed states, it's a sign Brazil may have a shot at creating a digital economy

 

source: business week magazine online JULY 25, 2005

 

 

 

 

Tech Companies in Recife

 

Brazil LG Informatica Opens Office in Recife
23 January 2007
 

 

Brazilian software provider LG Informatica established an office in Recife, the capital of Brazil's northeastern Pernambuco state, the Brazilian media reported on January 23, 2007.

According to the company's market director, Gustavo Reis Teixeira, the move is crucial for LG Informatica which seeks to strengthen its positions in the small and medium-sized companies segment, strongly developed in the northeastern region.  The Recife unit will be managed by Bruno Moura, the present trade director of LG Informatica's office in the central-western Goias state. With the new office, the company will not only attract direct clients but will also establish new partnerships, including the distribution segment, Moura said.   Apart from Goias, LG Informatica at present operates offices in the southeastern states Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and the southern state of Parana.

 

 

 

Brazil: Motorola invests US$9mil in Recife
1 June 2006
 

 

The cellular handsets manufacturer Motorola announced investments of US$9mil in R&D at Pernambuco IT pole, Porto Digital, during the next twelve months. The money will be spent in cellular handsets software platforms, a project maintained in partnership with the Centro de Estudos e Sistemas Avancados do Recife (Cesar) and Centro de Informatica da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Cin-UFPE ). Rosana Fernandes, Motorola R&D director, said the projects ongoing at Porto Digital are extremely important for the company and needed privileged infrastructure. The IT consultant and solutions provider, Cesar, created in 1996, has 650 collaborators and posted turnover of R$38mil in 2005. The entity goal is transferring IT self-sustained solutions between the society and Pernambuco state university, in two fronts: research project implementation, development & innovation, and support to creation of new IT business.

Motorola investments in Brazil since 1995 total US$500mil, including resources for construction of the Jaguariuna technological & industrial campus, located at Sao Paulo. In 1996, the company decided to set up its Latin American industrial complex in Brazil. Frmok 1997 - 2005 it has invested US$225mil in technology development consolidating the country as one of the most important for Motorola, together with China, Russia and India.

 

 

 

Brazil: Samsung sponsors R&F center at Recife
4 July 2006
 

 

Around 100 researches from Pernambuco and other states of the Northeast region have gathered for developing strategic projects and improving the mobile telephony sector. They are currently working on a last generation equipment laboratory located at Recife (Pernambuco), nearby the Porto Digital. The building was remodeled by the multinational Samsung via investments of R$1mil and will operate together with the Centro de Estudos e Sistemas Avancados do Recife (CESAR). The Minister of Science Technology, Sergio Rezende, said that the project challenge is to generate synergy between corporations and universities, contributing for the regional development. The superintendent of CESAR, Sergio Cavalcanti, informed the projects to be developed on the new building are related to mobile telephony software and digital entertainment. Samsung would invest R$8mil on the Northeast region this year, focusing on research programs, as announced by director of the company's IT institute, Vera Bier

 

 

 

 

Tech Companies leaving Recife

 

UB Sistemas moves to São Paulo
6 February 2008
 

 

Financial software manufacturer UB Sistemas will move its operational base from northeastern Brazil's Pernambuco state capital Recife to the country's financial center, São Paulo, website Reseller Web reported. UB expects to grow revenues 50% this year over 2007's 4mn reais (US$2.2mn). The company will take to São Paulo its commercial, customer service, technology, product development and maintenance departments. A small office will remain in Recife. "We want to become one of the two largest risk management software providers for the financial sector," said UB's executive director Othederaldo de Araújo Silva Júnior. The company - which develops its solutions over Microsoft, Unisys and Sybase platforms - expects to end this year with 15 clients.

UB closed six new contracts in the southeast region at end-2007 and includes in its portfolio banks such as ABN Amro Bank, Banco BGN, BankBoston, Banco Mercantil do Brasil, Banese and Banco do Nordeste.

 

Why did they leave?  speculation:  Maybe they were born in Recife, but then moved on to Sao Paulo in order to grow.

 

 

 

 

 

Fun in the Sun

 

Tourism and recreation

 

5/9/06 - The tourism sector in Pernambuco state records an annual turnover of R$4 billion. In 1998 the state received 1.3 million tourists and in 2005 this figure rose to 3.5 million - a 172% hike. The number of foreign tourists also rose in the period, by 226%, from 130,000 to 427,000.  According to the Recife Tourism Board (Empetur), 3.5 million people visited Pernambuco in 2005, of which 15% were foreigners, and generated a revenue of R$ 2.7 billion.

 

 

Highlights:

 

Boa Viagem Beach (the city's most important beach)

Olinda (neighbor city) - a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Casa da Cultura: souvenir shops in an ancient prision building

The Carnival at Recife Antigo

 

 

News

 
TOURISM: Recife to invest R$100mn by 2009
12 December 2006

Recife city, the capital of Pernambuco state, plans to invest R$ 100 million in tourism over the next two years, through partnerships with the federal and state governments.  The information was released by Agencia Brasil

 

 

Cruise Ship industry:

see discussion about the Port of Recife Below

 

 

 

Carnival Celebration & Marketing

 

Brazil Recife 2006 Carnival Attracts $1.89 Mln in Sponsorship Contracts
21 February 2006

 

 

The municipality of Recife, the capital of northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, signed sponsorship contracts worth 4.0 mln Brazilian reais ($1.89 mln/1.6 mln euro) for the Recife 2006 Carnival, the local media reported on February 20, 2006. Among the sponsors of the Carnival of Recife will be the fixed-line operator Telemar, Swiss Nestle, U.S. retail chain Wal-Mart, Brazilian retailer Lojas Renner, federal bank Caixa Economica Federal (CEF), local bank Banco BGN and utilities Eletrobras and Chesf. Furthermore, the Carnival will be sponsored by the Pernambuco's Government and the Brazilian Health Ministry. In Recife, the Carnival festivities traditionally begin in December, when locals begin preparing for the official Carnival, that starts the week before Ash Wednesday, which will take place on March 1, 2006. The pre-Carnival parties usually consist of percussion groups practising in local clubs, city streets and squares, and even Carnival balls.

 

 

 

 

 

Shark problem

 

Brazil to resume shark monitoring in Pernambuco 
14 April 2006
 

Recife: The research, monitoring and environmental work carried out by the State Committee for the Monitoring of Shark Incidents on the Pernambuco coast, which was suspended in February due to a lack of resources, will resume today (13 April).  According to researcher Fabio Hazin, chairman of the committee, the Pernambucan Tourism Company (Empetur) said that by 20 April it will release 170,000 reals from the annual budget of 435,000 reals so that work can continue.

 

Today the boat Sinuelo, which belongs to the Rural University and which in a year and seven months of activity captured 22 sharks which were dangerous to humans on the Pernambuco coast, will return to the sea with a crew of seven, including three researchers. The aim is to capture the marine animals for scientific research about their habits and reproductive biology.

 

In addition, students of biological sciences and fishing engineering from the Federal Rural University will be instructing weekend bathers on the beaches of Pina, Boa Viagem, Piedade and Candeias about preventive measures to reduce the risk of attacks.

 

The alerts are necessary because the sharks are continuing to attack close to the beach. The most recent case was on Sunday (9 April) at around 1700 [local time] in Jaboatao dos Guararapes, when the Santa Catarina lorry driver Jose Ivair Periera was bitten on the left leg by a shark when he decided to dive into the sea to get the sand off his body. With a deep wound, which compromised blood vessels and muscles, the lorry driver had surgery and is recovering in the Getulio Vargas hospital.

 

The chairman of the Pernambuco Oceanic Institute, Alexandre Carvalho, explained that the attacks, which began in 1992 and have so far caused 17 deaths and injured 30, were largely linked to environmental damage and estuary pollution. He argued for a massive campaign to inform the locals and tourists about high risk areas and an increase in the numbers of life guards on the seafront.

 

According to Carvalho, you cannot simply decimate the sharks. "It is necessary to work in order to demystify the negative image which has been created around sharks, showing their importance in maintaining the balance in the marine ecosystem," he said. He said that in Australia indiscriminate shark hunting led to an explosion in the octopus population. The octopuses ended up eating the lobsters, damaging the local economy.

 

 

 

 

Direct air flights to / from Pernambuco

 

Brazil TAF Starts Recife-Aruba Flight
 
13 September 2007
 

 

Brazilian northeastern region-based airline TAF Linhas Aereas (TAF) has started a flight connecting Recife, the capital of northeastern Pernambuco state, with Aruba, the Caribbean's most popular island destination, local media reported.

 

Flights on the route will be operated with Boeing 737 aircraft. Stopovers will be made in Belem and Manaus, the capitals of Brazilian northern Para and Amazonas states, respectively. The flights to Aruba are operated on Saturdays, while the return flights are operated on Sundays of the next week. This is the first direct flight from Brazil's Northeast region to Aruba. Previously, Brazilians had to travel to southeastern Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in order to fly to Aruba.

 

According to the director of the Aruba Tourism Authority in Brazil, Ana Maria Ostrower, the new flight will increase the offer of domestic flights to Aruba at a lower price. In this way it is seen to contribute to increasing the number of Brazilian tourists visiting the region, which has been growing at an average annual rate of 32 pct since 2002.  TAF expects flights to Aruba to have an occupancy rate of 50 pct on average.

 

 

 

 

 

Exporting "Brazilian Culture"

 

Music

 

Musica Brasil 2007 Fair To Result in $1.5 Mln Music Industry Exports
23 January 2007
 

 

 

The first edition of the Musica Brasil 2007 Fair, to be held in Pernambuco state capital Recife between February 7 and 11, 2007, will result in $1.5 mln (1.15 mln euro) music industry exports, according to a press release of the Brazilian National Social and Economic Development Bank (BNDES) on January 19, 2007.

 

The fair will be organised by the Brazilian Culture Ministry, the Brazilian Association of Independent Music and by BNDES. According to the Brazilian Minister Gilberto Gil, for the first time professionals from all segments of the music production and recording will gather at the fair.

 

The fair will discuss important issues as the new technologies and business models, intellectual property problems, online music sales, markets, among others.  According to Gil, the fair is a pilot project, which will allow the integration of the industry with technological novelties as Internet, iPod, among others.  During the fair ( www.feiramusicabrasil.com.br ), some 35 artists will present their music works. The selection of the artists was made by a special commission formed by nine specialists, of whom three from Argentina, the United States and England.

Besides the shows and the fair of musical products, various workshops will be organised.www.bndes.gov.br

 

 

Recife's Music Scene

 

bands that have transformed the image of the city once nominated as "the fourth worst in the world to live in" by a Washington institute. So what has happened?   The early 1990s saw the growth of the Mangue Beat movement, started by local musicians determined to bring new styles, energy and optimism to the region. Its best-known exponent Chico Science was tragically killed in a car crash, but the renaissance has continued, thanks to the bands on this intriguing set, who have mixed the traditional styles and rhythms of the region with anything from hip-hop to electronics. They include Science's own musicians, the slinky and rhythmic Nacao Zumbi, Mundo Livre (whose leader Fred 04 wrote the movement's manifesto), and electronics exponent Otto, along with Siba, whose percussion-based Vale do Juca reflects his interest in local rural styles. Robin Denselow

 

 

 

 

 

Real estate development

 

 

BRASIL BROKERS ACQUIRES JAIRO ROCHA REAL ESTATE FIRM
26 January 2008

São Paulo, 25 - Brasil Brokers Participações announced on Friday the acquisition of 100% of Jairo Rocha Empreendimentos e Negócios Imobiliários, in Recife, Pernambuco state.

Jairo Rocha leads in the region's real estate market and the deal is estimated at seven and a half times the company's 2008 net profit. (Estado news agency staff)

 

 

 
 
Recife gains new brands for residential market
10 December 2007
RECIFE (PE), 10 de dezembro de 2007 - Two big Pernambuco builders, Queiroz Galvão and Mourna Dubeaux, which sign luxury buildings on the coastal avenue of Boa Viagem (the most expensive address in the Northeast, where a square meter of real estate goes for R$5,000), are creating new brands to serve lower income publics in neighborhoods that make the real estate more accessible. The strategies focus on clients with family income of up to ten minimum salaries (R$3,800 or US$2,160) a month. (Ed: Based on a minimum salary of R$380 or US$216 a month.)

'The growth of real estate credit resulting from lower interest rates and falling inflation, reinforced by the loan terms being stretched out, is opening the door to owning one's own home for anyone who can handle the reduced payments over time,' said businessman Marcos Roberto Dubeaux, of building company Moura Dubeaux. Based on research by Fundação João Pinheiro, which indicates a housing deficit in the country of 7.2 million residences, the greater part among the populace that earns up to five minimum salaries a month (R$1,228 or US$698), the company invested in the brand Vivex, targeting the populace that earns three to ten minimum salaries (from R$1,140 or US$648 to R$3,800 or US$2,160) a month. In this project, Moura Dubeaux plans to launch about 4,000 units in the Northeast beginning in 2008

 

 

 

 

 

Construction Firms

 

Brazil: Rossi partners in Recife for real estate projects
20 December 2006
Rossi Residencial has joint ventured with the construction firm Gabriel Bacelar, from Pernambuco, so as to initiate operations in Recife and allowing to continue its regional expansion. A new firm was created from this joint venture, being controlled 50-50 by both corporations. The new firm, to be called Gabriel Bacelar, will have exclusivity in new launchings during the next 24 months. Currently, Gabriel Bacelar boasts lands at Recife which together allows to launch projects worth R$500mil. Similar joint ventures have been a way out for Sao Paulo-based construction firms to expand their regional activities. Rossi, for instance, operates in 26 cities from four different states. And besides Pernambuco, Rossi intends to reach other states in the Northeast region, being Bahia its next port of call

 

 

 

 

 

Building Construction

 

Tigre to inject R$17 mn into new Pernambuco factory
21 September 2006
 

 

With 65 years in the tubes and connectors market and leader of the sector in Latin America, the Brazilian investment group Tigre announced that it is expanding its operations with a new factory in the Northeastern state of Pernambuco. The locale chosen is situated in Escada municipality, in the Mata Sul zone, 60 kilometers from Recife, in a 90,000-square-meter plot, of which 11,000 will be constructed area. The new undertaking will generate 180 jobs directly and indirectly and require investments of R$17 million.

 

The factory, the group's sixth in Brazil, will be inaugurated in July 2007 and will also serve as a logistic center for distributing company products in the North and Northeast of the country. The production forecast is for 2,000 tonnes a month of tubes and connectors for basic sanitation, irrigation and building construction. Tigre reported billings of R$1.7 billion in the Brazilian market in 2005 and expects that to increase 5% in 2006. The group also owns factories in Chile, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay and exports to another 35 countries.

 

The new factory was announced during solemnities at the Field of Princesses gubernatorial palace, with the presence of governor José Mendonça Bezerra Filho, state Economic Development secretary Alexandre Valença, and Tigre executives Nelson Machado and Alan Tavares Fontes

 

 

 

 

 

Searching for Oil in Pernambuco

 

Consortium Petrogal- Petrobras to drill for oil in Pernambuco
30 November 2007
 

 

RECIFE, 30 de novembro de 2007 - The consortium formed by Petrogal, national division of the Portuguese holding Galp Energia, and Petrobras will invest US$ 50 million drilling for oil in 32 lots in the sedimentary basin of Pernambuco-Paraiba, winning the bid in the 9th round of bids of Petrobrás, held last Tuesday in Rio. The initial investment is for seismic tests which should begin after the signing of the contract between the consortium and the National Petroleum Agency, Agência Nacional de Petróleo, according to the director of the Oil Division of Petrogal, Fernando Gomes, in a statement yesterday in Recife, jointly with the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos.

 

The studies will take 3 years and will conclude whether there are sufficient reserves for commercial exploration-which will determine whether wells will be drilled. Based on the contract, 2 wells will be drilled in the lots which indicate profitability. The estimate is that each well implies investments of US$ 120 million - or US$ 720 million if the three lots are economically feasible. According to Fernando Gomes, side from the contract formalities, international bids will be made to select companies specialized in three dimension seismic analysis.

 

The bidding on the three blocks cost US$ 4 million in the bonus of the signing, paid by Petrobras, which controls 80% of the consortium and Petrogal, with 20%. The best was base don preliminary studies by the Agência Nacional de Petróleo (ANP), evaluated by geo-scientists of Galp Energia and Petrobras. "We reached the conclusion that Pernambuco has good possibilities,' said Gomes. The blocks won in the bid are 2,000 meters deep in the southern coast near Ipojuca , near Complexo Industrial and Port of Suape. A port. The exploration of oil in Pernambuco was unsuccessful on the Ilha de Itamaracá 38 years ago. Other drills on land were made in 1982 and 1995, at Praia de Cupe and in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, respectively.

 

 

 

Distribution Center for the NE of Brazil

 

U.S. Whirlpool Launches Distribution Centre in Brazil Northeast
9 August 2006
 

 

U.S. appliances maker Whirlpool Corp. launched a distribution centre in Recife, the capital of northeastern Brazilian Pernambuco state, Brazilian daily Invertia-Brasil reported on August 8, 2006.

The centre will be able to store some 30,000 products, earmarked for retailers in Brazil's Northeast. The company will be the first international appliances maker to launch such centre in the region, where Whirlpool plans to boost its operations. Whirlpool's household appliances sales in Northeast rose by 14 pct year-on-year in the last 12 months, almost twice higher in comparison to the company's sales in other Brazilian regions. The Northeast is key for Whirlpool's business in the country, the company's trade manager for Brazil, Jose Aurelio Drummond said.

The new centre will allow faster deliveries of appliances to clients in Northeast. It covers an area of 6,000 sq m and the company might triple the area if necessary, Drummond added.

Whirlpool holds the brands Consul and Brastemp in Brazil.

 

 

 

 

Enhancing Infrastructure

 

 

Airport

 

Infraero inaugurates Recife int'l airport terminal 
2 March 2006
 

Brazil's federal airport authority Infraero has inaugurated the country's newest international airport terminal in Recife, capital city of northeastern Pernambuco state, Infraero announced on its website.  The Recife international airport terminal, the newest wing of Recife's Guararapes-Gilberto Freyre airport, began operations in September 2005, and was officially inaugurated in time for Brazil's 2006 Carnival.  Costing a total 329mn reais (US$155mn), Infraero, Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, and the Pernambuco state government jointly funded the international terminal, an Infraero spokesperson told BNamericas.  Although operating, the works on the new terminal are far from completion. Infraero will now commence works on the second stage of the international airport project.  Second-stage works include construction of an additional landing strip, four tramways linking the international and domestic terminals at Guararapes-Gilberte Freyre airport. The two terminals will share are a common shopping area and food court. Upon completion, the international airport will have an annual passenger capacity of 7.2 million. Infraero is currently in the planning for second-stage works and does not yet have an estimated budget or a date for which it will call for bids on the project, the Infraero spokesperson said.  Operations began at the Guararapes-Gilberte Freyre airport in May 2004; until last September all international and domestic passengers arrived at the domestic terminal.   Infraero operates 66 airports throughout Brazil.

 

 

 

 

Ports of Suape

 

The principal ports in northeastern Brazil's Pernambuco state - Suape and Recife ports - increased cargo movement by 22% in the first two months of 2006, compared to the same year-ago period, local daily Valor Econômico reported.  Combined, Pernambuco's ports handled 1.3Mt in January and February. Imports totaled 419,000t, a 62% increase over the same period in 2004, while exports totaled 279,000t, a 2.4% increase over 2004.   Recife port, in the state's capital city, reported an 82% increase in imports, up 245,772t last year versus 134,800t in 2004. Total cargo movement increased by 14% to 381,500t.    In total the port handled 955,300t, a 25% increase over 2004.   Suape officials also announced that Brazilian subsidiary of PepsiCo will begin operations at a US$6mn factory located at the port near the end of this month

 
 
 
 
PORTS: Construction of Suape resumed
22 September 2006
 

 

RECIFE, 9/22/06 - The governor of Pernambuco state, Mendonça Filho, and the state's economic development secretary, Alexandre valença, on Friday announced the resumption of the construction works of wharf number 4 of the Port of Suape, located 40km away from Recife. The construction of this wharf started in 2001, but was halted three times, the last one in 2003. Since then, the state's government has made several attempts to resume the entrepreneurship, all of which failed due to federal resources withholding.  Construction companies Norberto Odebrecht and Organization of American States (OAS) are still in charge of the resumption of the project. After the conclusion, the wharf will be bid through a public bid for the construction of a granary terminal.

 

what is the status today? done?

 

 

 

Port of Recife

 

Recife dredging project funds guaranteed
21 June 2007
Recife port in northeastern Brazil's Pernambuco state has received confirmation from the federal government that funds for its 25mn-real (US$13mn) dredging project are guaranteed, the port said in a statement. "I had a meeting with [ports] minister Pedro Brito, who confirmed that the resources for Recife port's 2007 dredging project are guaranteed," said the port's president Alexandre Catão. The meeting was held following the dredging plan's approval by the Recife port authority's board of directors and its management body.

 

Around five months of dredging work will be undertaken on the port's access channel between the sugar terminal and the number 6 warehouse, with the goal of deepening the channel to 11.5m.  Catão received the minister's word that the first part of the finances for the project would form part of the port ministry's budget. With these funds available, the port will be able to continue with the licensing process for the dredging works

 

 

 

Work on Recife passenger terminal expected to start by Oct
13 April 2007

 

Work on the new terminal in Brazil's Pernambuco state capital Recife will start by October this year, Recife port president Alexandre Catão told BNamericas.  "We need around two weeks for discussions and another 20 days to define the project. Following this it will take around 60 days for bidding rules to be published, so work will probably start in September or October, but not before that," the president confirmed.  The news comes following the port president's meeting on April 13 with the state tourism secretary José Chaves.

"The passenger terminal will probably be located in terminal 6, but another alternative may be in terminal 7. The final decision on the exact location of the passenger terminal will be taken at another meeting on April 25," Catão said.

 

"This is excellent news in turning Recife into a global destination for cruise ships," continued Catão.

 

The passenger terminal is estimated at needing investment of around 6mn reais (US$3mn), which is to be provided by the ports' bird flu prevention program.  The program is to finance the terminal due to the need for separation of passengers from potentially harmful cargos.  A further 1mn reais is due from the federal government for the port's solid waste management, ship boarding and a general environmental program.  According to the Recife port authority, 82 ships docked at the port between October 2006 and March this year, accounting for the movement of 77,820 passengers.  The port is expecting to publish the bidding rules for seabed dredging and recuperation of its land-based infrastructure by May 15, depending upon the federal government's authorization of 10mn reais from its general budget

 

 

 

 

City improvements

 

Recife to invest 52% more in infrastructure
30 January 2008
 

 

Brazil's Pernambuco state capital Recife will spend 52.3% more this year than in 2007 for infrastructure projects, with increases assigned for sanitation, housing and urbanization works, news agency Folha Online reported. The municipal government had a 60mn-real (US$33.7mn) surplus in 2007 and this will be used in 2008, the agency said. Last year the municipality invested 17.3mn reais in sanitation. In 2008 investments for this sector will jump to 105mn reais, aided by resources from the country's economic growth acceleration plan PAC. In housing 15.4mn reais were spent in 2007 while a projected 40.1mn reais have been allocated for 2008. Urbanization, which includes sidewalk repairs and construction of a new bus terminal, will receive investments of 408mn reais.

 

http://www.bnamericas.com

 

 

 

 

 

Sanitation

 

BNDES to loan US$5mn for Recife infra, sanitation initiatives
18 October 2006
 

 

The government of northeastern Brazil's Pernambuco state capital Recife has signed an 11mn-real (US$5.15mn) national development bank BNDES loan for local sanitation and infrastructure works, the city said in a release.

 

Planned works include paving of municipal roads and dredging of the Ibura de Baixo, Rua dos Pessegueiros and Iraque canals. Sanitation projects set to receive funding include: implementation of a sewerage network in the Vietnã and Mangueira da Torre neighborhoods; construction of a wastewater treatment plant; renovations to existing treatment plants; and installation of residential sewerage connections in several neighborhoods. This loan brings BNDES disbursements to the city over the past three years to 34mn reais. The bank is expected to disburse an additional 18mn reais through 2007 to support the city's 65mn-real sanitation package, of which BNDES pledged 80% while the city is contributing 20% in counterpart funding.

BNDES plans to pay out its latest 11mn-real loan in the coming weeks.

 

 

BNDES loans US$24mn for Recife's sanitation, infra projects
10 February 2006
 

 

Brazil's national development bank (BNDES) has approved a 52.4mn-real (US$24.1mn) loan for northeastern Pernambuco state capital Recife to carry out sanitation and infrastructure projects, a city spokesperson told BNamericas. The city will contribute 13mn reais in counterpart funding for the works, which are budgeted at 65mn reais. "The first installment of BNDES financing should be disbursed next week [from Feb 13] and will be used to fund projects already in progress," the spokesperson said, expanding on a report from government news service Radiobrás. "The city will call for bids and launch works on new projects during the first half of this year." Planned projects include paving streets, installing drainage canals, and implementing sanitation facilities for four low-income communities in Recife.  The city launched an initiative to extend sanitation services four years ago; thus far 30,000 residents in 8,565 homes have benefited from the 16mn-real program

 

 

 

Water

 

BNDES to finance waterworks in Recife
21 September 2007
 

 

Brazilian federal development bank BNDES will provide 205mn reais (US$110mn) in financing for Pernambuco state capital Recife's waterworks project Pirapama, the bank said in a press release.

 

The contract was actually signed in 2004, but had to be revised due to the state's delay in executing the project.

 

The Pirapama project will need total investments of 438mn reais, and resources from the state government and integration ministry will cover the other 233mn reais. Of the 205mn reais financed by BNDES, works worth 125mn reais have already been contracted out.

 

The project was selected for funding under the federal government's growth acceleration program (PAC). It was considered essential due to the low rates of water services in Pernambuco's capital. With Pirapama works, some 3.6mn people living in greater Recife will be connected to the potable water network.

 

 

 

 

Metro System in Recife :  2nd longest in Brazil (after Sao Paulo)

 

Pernambuco begins tests on extended Recife metro 
31 October 2006
  

Brazil's Pernambuco state has begun test runs on the recently extended metro in capital city Recife, the federal cities ministry said in a statement. The city metro company MetroRec recently completed expansion works on the Linha Sul line, which extended the city metro system by 19km.

 

"Although works are concluded, it is necessary to evaluate operations in order to guarantee safety and quality for users," cities minister Marcio Fortes de Almeida said.

MetroRec expects that the Linha Sul will be open to users within four months, at a cost of 1.20 reais (US$0.56) per person.

 

The entire network now extends 39.5km, making it the country's second longest system after São Paulo, while the number of metro stations will increase to 29 from 18 and daily passenger capacity is expected to nearly triple from 140,000 to 400,000.

 

The World Bank provided financing of US$102mn for the expansion project

 

 

The cities ministry announced last month it would provide 78mn reais (US$33.4mn%

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