Brazilian port company Companhia Docas do Espírito Santo (Codesa) will negotiate with businesspeople from Chinese special economic zone of Zhuhai to establish a direct sea link between that port city and the port city of Vitoria, the capital of Espírito Santo, according to a sector association.

The Brazilian Association of Port and Waterway Entities said in its February 2017 report on the February that a Brazilian delegation will travel to Zhuhai on 11 February to assess the possibility of opening up the sea link with local businesspeople.

The president of Codesa, Luis Claudio Santana Montenegro, who is part of the delegation and who is due to return to Brazil on 19 February, said that Zhuhai entrepreneurs had expressed great interest in the port of Vitoria and added that “the interest in establishing a direct commercial link is mutual.”

Santana Montenegro said that the Chinese interest in establishing the sea link emerged following the completion of modernisation works at the port of Vitoria as well as dredging of the access channel, “whose delay has meant that we lost ships to other ports.”

The Brazilian delegation visiting Zhuhai includes a representative of the Vila Velha Terminal, a port facility that handles containers and general cargo. (macauhub)