The Port of São Francisco do Sul has announced the final stage of the Itapoá beach widening project, with work now set to move to Figueira do Pontal Beach.
Sand placement along the 800-meter stretch is scheduled to begin on Friday, June 26, marking the last phase of the coastal restoration project being carried out alongside dredging works in Babitonga Bay.
Work on Princesa do Mar Beach was completed on Saturday, June 20. The project began in October at Pontal do Norte Beach, which received the largest volume of dredged material. So far, the beach nourishment works are 93% complete, with 7.3 kilometers of coastline already widened out of the 8.8 kilometers planned.
The coastal restoration is being carried out in parallel with the dredging of the outer access channel to Babitonga Bay. Part of the sediment removed from the seabed is being reused to widen beaches in Itapoá. The channel deepening is designed to allow larger vessels to reach ports in the region.
Dredging on the access channel is also moving ahead, with about 62% of the work completed. In all, 12 million cubic meters of sediment are expected to be removed, half of which will be used in the beach nourishment project.
The works in Itapoá began in October last year and are scheduled for completion in September 2026. The latest stage will take the intervention to Praia Figueira do Pontal, in southern Itapoá, close to the port area. About 465,000 cubic meters of sand are expected to be placed there.
Larger vessels
The deepening of the Babitonga Bay access channel will allow vessels of up to 366 meters in length to berth at the port complex, making it one of the few in Brazil able to receive ships of that size fully loaded.
Today, the Babitonga Bay port complex can receive vessels of up to 336 meters, with capacity for 10,000 TEUs. Once the project is completed, that capacity is expected to rise to 16,000 TEUs.
Public-private partnership
The R$333 million project was made possible through an unprecedented partnership between the Port of São Francisco do Sul and the private Itapoá terminal.
According to the port, this is the first time in Brazil that a public port has signed a contract with a private port to carry out a project of this nature. The public Port of São Francisco do Sul will contribute R$33 million, while the private Itapoá terminal will invest R$300 million.
The private investment will be reimbursed in installments through 2037. Repayment to Itapoá will be based on additional port tariff revenue generated by the increase in vessel calls and cargo volumes after the deepening project is completed.
Beach nourishment and dune recovery
The port says this is the first time in Brazil, and the second time worldwide, that sediment from port dredging is being used to widen a beach. A similar use of dredged material has previously been recorded in Australia.
The Itapoá project is also described as Brazil’s largest beach nourishment project by length.
The beach has already received more than 93,000 native restinga seedlings as part of dune restoration work. The goal is to rebuild and stabilize the dunes, helping extend the durability of the coastal restoration.
In total, 280,000 seedlings from six different species are expected to be planted. The seedlings come from nurseries installed near the project area.
The new dunes are between 1 meter and 1.5 meters high and about 26 meters wide, forming a continuous coastal protection system.
Benefits for the Port of São Francisco do Sul
For vessels using the Port of São Francisco do Sul, the project is expected to generate annual savings of R$20 million by eliminating the need for intermediate anchorage.
Source: Port of São Francisco do Sul
