Mayor of Cubatão proposes land swap for truck yard

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin met with the Mayor of Cubatão yesterday in Brasília and reviewed the proposal (Divulgação/PMC)

Opposed to the installation of a truck yard on Ilha do Tatu, next to the Mario Covas Viaduct, the Mayor of Cubatão, César Nascimento (PSD), proposed a land swap to the Federal Government this Wednesday (12): he offered a municipal area in the Industrial Hub for the project. The site covers 1 million square meters (m²), more than twice the size of Ilha do Tatu.

The proposal was presented to Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), in Brasília. The mayor informed the vice president that a truck yard on Ilha do Tatu would impact over 40,000 people living in nearby neighborhoods.

Nascimento added that he seeks dialogue with the Santos Port Authority (APS), which has already auctioned the area since it is within the designated port zone. “We are not against the development of the Port and the region, but Cubatão cannot always bear the burden of this progress”, Nascimento stated to Alckmin.

The area offered by the City Hall is located in a region known as Sítio dos Areais, along the Cônego Domênico Rangoni Highway. Alckmin informed the mayor that he would look further into the matter and present the proposal to the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho.

Present at the meeting, Federal Deputy Paulo Alexandre Barbosa (PSDB) commented that the proposed area “already has environmental licensing, including approval for receiving developments”, and that the Public Prosecutor's Office opposes the Ilha do Tatu project.

Canceled meeting The Mayor of Cubatão was scheduled to meet with Costa Filho yesterday. However, the minister canceled the appointment as he was summoned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for a meeting with Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos) regarding the Santos-Guarujá tunnel.

The contract for the installation of a logistics complex on Ilha do Tatu has already been signed by APS with the company Condilog, with a 35-year term. The area covers 420,000 m² and will receive a truck regulation yard with 1,020 spaces, expected to be completed by 2028.

APS President Anderson Pomini is currently in Belgium but has stated that he intends to meet with the Mayor of Cubatão next week to discuss the project. The logistics complex will have the advantage of direct access to the Imigrantes and Anchieta highways, easing heavy traffic in Cubatão’s urban area.