Macaé / Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro – Nominated as the Most Dynamic Investment Region in Brazil
Due to being the location of the headquarters of the Brazil Real Estate & Land Investment Guide as well as our associated projects via the Fez Tá Pronto Construction System, we have translated an article which recently appeared in the Brazil’s Exame magazine using research by consultancy Deloitte – indicating the North Fluminense and South Capixaba of Rio de Janeiro state as the most dynamic and important growth regions of the country.
We have also included a video on Brazil businessman Eike Batisa´s plans for the Açu Port (Porto do Açu) in São João da Barra located in the region. The arrival of the port is attracting huge population influxes, particularly to the Campos dos Goytacazes, Macaé and Rio das Ostras municipalities which, in turn, is resulting in a massive ongoing demand for housing – particularly for the low income sector which remains very undersupplied. However, despite a September 2010 announcement of the creation of an affordable housing programme to house 250,000 people by Batista’s group – entitled City X (Cidade X) – very few steps have been taken in relation to its execution.
Region 1 – North Fluminense and South Capixaba – Brazil’s Gulf of Mexico – Exame Magazine Translation – Região 1 – Norte Fluminense e Sul Capixaba – O Nosso Golfo do México (original em português)
Regardless of the angle being looked at, the region that unites the North Fluminense and South Capixaba regions [of Rio de Janeiro] takes the lead out of the 10 emerging areas identified by the Deloitte consultants as the most promising in Brazil. Added together, the total population of the 15 municipalities is over 1 million habitants. There are 30,000 workers that earn over 10 times the country´s minimum salary level (12 percent of the labour force), placing them at the top of the socio-economic pyramid. The index is similar to that of Florianópolis, ranked 13th in Brazil in terms of class A and B citizens according to the Urban Systems consultancy firm. The GDP, estimated at R$ 65 billion, is similar to the total of Costa Rica.
In spite of the already impressionable figures, what brings most interest are the future perspectives of the North Fluminense and South Capixaba regions. This is the region that has the largest concentration of production / reserves of petroleum and where the exploration of pre-salt oil has already attracted abundant capital influxes.
A study by Firjan, the Industrial Federation of Rio de Janeiro (Federação das Indústrias do Rio de Janeiro) estimates that from January up until December 2014, the region will receive R$ 14 billion in industrial investments. One example is the French company Schlumberger – one of the largest groups in the world in services related to the petroleum sector – that sells, rents and operates equipment including oil well perforation technology. At the end of 2010, Schlumberger concluded the duplication of its operational structure in the country – headquartered in Macaé – at a cost of 65 million dollars. Whilst the company does not divulge the number of employees, its operational base is the largest outside of its headquarters in France.
The preparation of developing the pre-salt sector into a reality is pushing progress in the infrastructure of the region. Today, whoever flies over the north of Rio de Janeiro will see congestion of embarkations close to the only port of the region – owned by Petrobras, located in Macaé – made up of ships that transport equipment and supplies for platform activity, known as the “trucks and tractors of the sea”. A helicopter flight will also reveal that these traffic jams should cease with time owing to the ongoing plans for four ports: three in Rio and one in Espírito Santo which are either under construction or undergoing approval.
Businessman Eike Batisa´s Açu Port (Porto do Açu) in São João da Barra in the far north of Rio de Janeiro state will be the largest of all. It will have the capacity to receive nine ships simultaneously in 2012, increasing to 40 when it is ready – probably in 2016. Employees from the Korean Hyundai Heavy Industries Group – who have purchased a shipyard from the OSX naval construction group owned by Eike Batista – are already in the region [see a subtitled video of the plans below]:
As these investments transform into works and production, the North Fluminense and South Capixaba regions will receive a new influx of workers and, subsequently, consumers. “People need houses, hospitals, schools and several other services which opens up a great deal for business,” confirms Cristiano Prado, industrial and investment competition manager of Firjan. Part of the surge is already being seen. The Shopping Boulevard Campos, inaugurated in April 2011 by the Rio de Janeiro group Aliansce, is part of the 15 other shopping centre network across Brazil which has assisted in the maturation of the retail sector in the region. “Many people that only used to purchase in the capital [of Rio de Janeiro] are now coming here,” says Marcelo Oliveira, superintendent of the Shopping Boulevard Campos.
The first Mitsubishi car dealership, inaugurated in August, is currently selling 30 cars per month at an average price of R$ 90,000. In the first month of operation, the store beat its target sales levels reached normally between four and six months. “I do not remember such a forceful start happening in any other part of Brazil,” confirmed Fernando Matarazzo, commercial director from Mitsubishi. At the start of the next year, the brand should be opening a new dealership in the neighbouring municipality of Macaé.
With the arrival of constructors and investors from various parts of the country, the real estate sector has witnessed a rebirth. “We are here because our strategy is always to move in line with GDP growth,” confirms Onito Barboso, managing director of resources at Global Equity that administers a property fund valued at R$ 500 million via the Banco do Brasil workers pension fund. Global Equity has three impending investments in the region. In Macaé, there should be a commercial building and apartment-hotel. In Campos dos Goytacazes, a corporate building is also expected to be constructed. Today, in the North Fluminense and South Capixaba, very few doubt that the march of the petroleum industry is well underway.
[...] is extraordinary. LLX has recently announced 2 new companies that will located in the Porto Açu [see this recent translated article from the Exame magazine on the surrounding regions] – NKTF and Technip which are new factories, contracted for US$ 350 million and US$ 250 million [...]