Investment Opportunities

Fiesc (Santa Catarina’s Industry Federation) published a study identifying 48 key-enterprises which promote development, particularly in sectors where the state has natural advantages. They represent an investment potential of nearly R$ 30 billion over the next decade and creation of nearly 250 thousand job positions between direct and indirect jobs, and those resulting from the income-effect.

Four anchor projects are synergetic and have multiplying effects:

Transcatarinense Gas Pipeline

This line will cross Santa Catarina in the East-West direction, joining the existing Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline, in the city of Joinville. As a first impact, this will make feasible a greater volume of thermal generation in the state. Several industrial activities – especially in the agri-industrial, ceramic, glass, metal-mechanics sectors, and possibly a gas-chemical complex, – will benefit from the arrival of natural gas.

TransCatarinense Railroad

The proposal for the construction of a railroad connection from the inland regions to the coast justifies a feasibility study for a number of reasons. One such reason is the gradual return of cargo transportation due to efficiency gains promoted by the private concessions and the growing economic strength of the state’s inland regions. In addition to this, there is the promise of larger volumes of heavy cargo in the long run, mainly wood and derivatives from the expansion of reforestation projects. The Transcatarinense Railroad will potentially be an integral part of the Bioceanic Railroad, another ambitious continental integration project.

Babitonga Port Complex

(São Francisco do Sul Port and Itapoá Port)
The increase of international cargo in the South/Southeast of Brazil displays a heavy demand for container transport services. As cabotage regains efficiency, this demand should increase even more. There are private plans to develop a modern terminal with an infrastructure for industrial activities in a large area to the North of Babitonga Bay – in the city of Itapoá. The ports of São Francisco do Sul and Itapoá will, in the medium to long term, be optional destinations for the road and rail corridor from the state’s inland regions.

RefloreSC – Reforestation on a Commercial Scale

Santa Catarina has excellent natural advantages for reforestation of Pinus, a pine tree species, used in paper and cellulose manufacturing. The state is able to become one of the main national supply centers for forest raw material, possibly meeting the needs of all parts of a productive chain in the lumber sector. The project’s goal is to increase the reforested area by a million hectares over the next 20 years, at a pace of approximately 50 thousand hectares a year.

Other investment opportunities identified by the Industry Federation (FIESC) include small hydroelectric centers and natural gas, coal, and biomass thermoelectric plants. Agribusinesses offer good perspectives on organic agriculture; onion dehydration; milk and dairy products, apple improvement, furniture, paper and cellulose, wood panels; fishing and mariculture; silos and warehouses; wine making. In the service sector, there are opportunities for the construction of ocean cruise terminals and marinas; ecological, rural, ethnic, winter, senior citizen tourism, among others. The port, airport, railroad and urban maritime transport infrastructure in Florianópolis also offer good opportunities for entrepreneurs.