Governor Eduardo Leite has signed the contract and the order to begin dredging works at the access channel to the Port of Rio Grande, to be executed with resources from the Rio Grande Plan Fund (Funrigs), totaling R$432.2 million in investment. The signing took place during the governor’s visit to the Rio Grande Shipyard.
The dredging will cover the outer channel, the inner channel, and the berths of Porto Novo in the organized port of Rio Grande. The project’s scope also includes environmental monitoring throughout its execution. The contract, signed with the company Van Oord, has an estimated timeline of 15 months.
“This is the largest dredging investment ever made in the history of the state and aims to ensure that cargo handling can take place reliably, without leaving vessels waiting. Every delay for ships to enter or move in the port is a loss of the state’s competitive capacity. With this investment, we will ensure that this does not happen, increasing security for those investing here. Ensuring the best navigation conditions for the port is, therefore, fundamental for retaining and attracting investments, generating jobs, and fostering development,” highlighted Leite.
The dredging will provide safe navigation conditions for large vessels, strengthen logistics capacity for the outflow of Rio Grande do Sul’s production, improve efficiency, reduce operational costs, and boost competitiveness. The use of Funrigs resources to carry out dredging is part of the state’s infrastructure recovery strategy.
Created by State Law No. 16,/2024, the fund is intended to finance reconstruction, adaptation, and climate resilience projects, centralizing strategic investments for the state. Portos RS secured R$731 million for the port infrastructure reconstruction project.
Container handling at the Port of Rio Grande
See below a history of deep-sea container handling at the Port of Rio Grande from January 2022 to August 2025. The chart was prepared with DataLiner data and excludes internal operations, transshipment, and cabotage:
Container Handling – Deep Sea | Port of Rio Grande | Jan 2022 – Aug 2025 | TEU
Source: DataLiner (Click here to request a demo)
Flood protection actions
During the dredging signing ceremony, Governor Leite also announced the allocation of R$1.2 million for flood protection actions in the municipality of Rio Grande. The funds are part of the Reconstruction Fund-to-Fund program, which integrates the Rio Grande Plan, and will be used for hydrojet cleaning of 62.7 kilometers of sewer networks across several neighborhoods, cleaning of 2,700 manholes, and 5,600 storm drains.
Led by Leite, the Rio Grande Plan is a state program created to protect the population, rebuild Rio Grande do Sul, and make it stronger and more resilient, prepared for the future.
The event was also attended by state secretaries Ernani Polo (Economic Development), Paula Mascarenhas (Institutional Relations), Angela de Oliveira (Deputy Secretary of Reconstruction), and Mário Ikeda (Deputy Secretary of Public Security), as well as the mayor of Rio Grande, Darlene Pereira.
Source: Rádio Guaíba
