ArcelorMittal supplies steel for Brazil's super port

ArcelorMittal Brazil supplied about 59,000 tonnes of steel for the construction of Acu Port in the country's southeastern state of Rio de Janeiro. The company supplied 47,000 cut and bent rebars manufactured on the Belgo Pronto block along with 12,000 tonnes of steel sheet piles.

Sheet piles are mainly used in the construction of port terminals and shipyards as they offer a combination of high strength and durability together with low weight characteristics. The steel supplied by ArcelorMittal will be a key element of the onshore berths.

This facility is called a super port because of its size and its ability to handle 350 million tonnes of cargo per year, including up to 100 million tonnes per year of iron ore. The Acu Port is expected to enter service in April 2015. Acu Port is being built in São João da Barra, located in the northern part of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The amount of steel supplied by the company for the construction of this super port, as it is popularly called, is equivalent to the weight of almost 8 metal in the structure of the Eiffel Tower.

The port will be the largest in the Americas. It will become tropical Rotterdam as it is already being compared to the busiest port in Europe. Acu, which means great in indigenous language, has two terminals on the coast near São João da Barra, about 320 kilometers northeast of Rio's famous beaches. The object, which occupies about 90 sq. km is also located near the Campos oil and gas basin, which is the source of about 80 percent of Brazil's production for potential customers.