GE Energy Connections (NYSE: GE) has recently delivered the full turnkey project to VLI for engineering, supply and commissioning of the port terminal Luiz Antonio Mesquita Integrator Port Terminal (Tiplam) at the port of Santos, located in the city of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. GE’s integrated electrical solutions provided a one-stop solution for the customer’s electrification, power generation and control needs.
Brazil’s economy relies heavily on exports of natural resources-based products. Improvement in its port’s infrastructure will therefore bring substantial economic growth opportunities to the country. The government understands its significance and has put out ambitious plans to invest up to $9.7 billion for the new phase of port concessions.
The port of Santos has been historically one of the largest and busiest ports in Latin America. GE’s Power Conversion has delivered its full scope of work including a main and a complementary substation, 10 e-houses and electrical and automation systems that provide power generation and control to the Tiplam terminal at the port. Certain equipment was manufactured in Betim, Brazil, meeting the local content requirement.
After the successful commissioning managed by GE, the port terminal has seen substantial improvement in its efficiency of cargo loading, discharging and stowing. For example, the time for a cargo to wait and load goods has shortened from five days to only 24 hours at the terminal, saving significant cost of docking.
“With the upgraded service drawing to conclusion, the Tiplam terminal will have an expanded capacity of 14.5 million tons of goods per annum. Working with technology partners such as GE, we are transforming the future of port transport, bringing more efficiency to our customers,” said Alessandro Gama, terminal general manager at VLI.
As an initiative to digitize the port infrastructure, GE has also provided a customized software to optimize vessels’ traffic management, further improving transport efficiencies. The software provides an overview of fleet activities at the harbor, bringing each individual vessel in line with the fleet’s requirement regarding time needed for loading goods and shortening or eliminating queues at the terminal.
“The future of transport has come across the pivoting point to unlock more efficiencies and productivity, and that is enabled by electrification and digitization. Both technologies are bringing multifaceted benefits to reduce costs as well as to optimize transporting management,” said Mohammed Azeez, president & CEO, GE’s Power Conversion. “The port terminal has been successfully commissioned and has been in operation reliably. We are convinced that the improved port infrastructure will bring great impact to the country’s economy, and we are delighted to be part of it.”