Superporto do Açu is a US$2.5 billion port and industrial complex being erected on the Rio coastline on an area equivalent to 12,000 football pitches. Reputedly the largest industrial port complex of its type in the world, Açu is also one of the most visible symbols of China’s rapidly accelerating drive into Brazil and South America. Açu should open for business in 2012 and its 10-berth pier will handle cargo ships, among them the 380-meter-wide ChinaMax – the largest vessel of its type, capable of ferrying 400,000 tonnes of cargo. According to Global Development, which is part of The Guardian, millions of tonnes of iron ore, grain, soy and millions of barrels of oil are expected to pass through the facility each year on their way east, bringing natural resources to China.
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