Soon, the regional naval sector will be more under the spotlight in Manaus. Between May 16th and 18th, the city will host the Navegistic Fair, with business estimates of US$50 million, according to engineer Lucas Brasil, CEO of the project, bringing together large companies and expertise from Brazil and abroad.
Lucas is the interviewee of the streaming podcast ‘JC at 15h’, led by journalist Fred Novaes, editorial director of Jornal do Commercio. For three days, the capital of Amazonas will experience the effervescence of potential investments, taking as its stage the Studio 5 Convention Center, in the Japiim neighborhood, South zone.
The exhibition will showcase cutting-edge technologies developed for the naval sector. There are at least 28 stands, each with its own particularities, innovation and uses, highlights Lucas Brasil. Entry is free.
At the same time, nationally and internationally renowned speakers will address topics of high competitive value for those who wish to expand their activities in the region, which today houses the most successful development model in the country, the ZFM (Manaus Free Zone), well suited to expand its range of action.
According to Lucas Brasil, Navegistic was born in Asunción, capital of Paraguay, now bringing its experience of ten years of effective achievements to the capital of Amazonas. “In the northern arc, there is already a very strong naval infrastructure. What we intend to bring are companies interested in these investments, not only from abroad, but also from other regions of Brazil”, he explains.
In Brazil, Manaus is a pioneer in hosting the South American Intermodal River Logistics Fair, to which Navegistic lends its name. It is one of the main showcases on the continent for the effectiveness of million-dollar businesses in the area, highlights the company's director.
In addition to the presence of potential investors, Brazilian and international experts will give lectures on a wide range of topics related to the river sector. The main subjects to be covered are navigation, logistics and waterways; industry, business and training; naval and nautical engineering; and industry and international trade.
According to Lucas, the Navegistic fair is, today, the most important intermodal logistics event in South America, expanding from Paraguay, where the segment generates billion-dollar resources, offering a solid infrastructure to customers. The conference, in reality a mega congress, promises to make the latest technological advances in naval and river engineering available to the interested public.
Participating in the organization of the congress are Ocinf (Oil Companies International Marine Forum), Abani (Brazilian Association of Navigation Rivers Interiores) and Sobena (Brazilian Society of Naval Engineering).
The event is expected to receive an audience of approximately 400 people over the three days of events. With each edition, the fair records an increase of at least 30% in the level of attraction of new businesses. And the Brazilian market presents itself as very strategic because it also has a solid operational system – it has a wide hydrographic network, with 63 thousand kilometers of rivers.
Platform
However, only 30.9% of the country's river network is still used commercially by inland navigation, supporting new investments. Another fact that appears to be very opportune to boost the sector – only 5% of cargo movement in the national territory is carried out through this type of transport.
“We carried out a market study and found that the region has great growth potential due to the total number of natural resources that have not yet been explored,” said Lucas. “Not even 10% of these potentials were explored. And we work for the future. Planting this grain of sand to boost development”, he adds.
The CEO also says that there is a lack of more effective participation between the public sector and the private sector, something that creates difficulties in increasing activities.
“The fair tries to bring together all enterprises and serve as a platform to facilitate activities. We have training, qualifications and technological updates, carried out by national and international professionals”, he states.
Another positive aspect is that, in terms of density, Brazil has only 2.3 kilometers of economically usable waterways for every thousand square kilometers of area. And the objective is to transform this scenario, generating greater interest from commercial groups.
“From this year onwards, all this experience, contact and business development will also dock in Manaus, generating services, knowledge and technology to help with growth and volume of investments, as we have done for ten years in Paraguay”, highlights Lucas, who does not hide their enthusiasm for the success achieved by holding the event from Paraguay.
Navegistic also focuses its actions on the social side. At the same time, each edition chooses a philanthropic entity
