Grupo Peralta Proposes R$1 Billion Cruise Terminal Near Santos
The terminal would sit inside Litoral Plaza Shopping, one of Brazil’s ten largest malls, with a tunnel to the pier and year-round cruise-only operations.
Brazil’s Grupo Peralta has proposed a R$1 billion ($200 million) cruise terminal at Litoral Plaza Shopping in Praia Grande, 19 kilometers from Santos. The Litoral Plaza Port project would add two berths for vessels up to 362 meters and 228,081gt and is designed for about 1.3 million passenger movements a year.
The scale would put the planned terminal in the same annual-throughput range as Santos’ existing Concais Passenger Terminal, which is described at about 1.3 million passenger movements a year across the port. Grupo Peralta is pitching the project as a complement to Santos’ cruise operation, citing studies that point to rising cruise demand in the region.
A second large-ship gateway near Santos
The pier dimensions would allow Litoral Plaza Port to handle ships close to the size of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, which measures nearly 365 meters and 250,800gt. The planned draft is 9 meters, and the terminal is intended to accommodate two ships at the same time, each carrying about 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crew.
Praia Grande is Brazil’s fourth most-visited city, according to the Ministry of Tourism, and has direct highway links to Sao Paulo. The site is about 70 kilometers, or roughly 50 minutes, from Congonhas Airport, which mainly serves high-frequency domestic flights.
The cruise facility would be dedicated exclusively to cruise operations and would operate year-round. Its terminal would be located within the shopping mall complex, with a tunnel linking the passenger facility to the pier.
Terminal plan tied to retail and hotel development
Grupo Peralta is the company behind Litoral Plaza Shopping, one of Brazil’s 10 largest shopping centers. The mall has 90,000 square meters of gross leasable area and includes retail and leisure areas, with a Hampton by Hilton under development.
Current tenants include a Hard Rock Cafe and Brazil’s largest licensed Disney store. Future projects at the complex include a village-style hotel planned for tourists and Santos Football Club staff, as well as a Santos FC sports training center in partnership with Neymar Sport & Marketing.
Approvals and partnership structure remain open
The proposed investment is expected to use a partnership or joint-venture structure. Grupo Peralta said preliminary conversations are under way with interested groups. No agreement has been finalized.
The project has been submitted to Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports. It has secured federal water-area authorization from the Secretariat for Federal Assets, authorization from the Federal Revenue Service and clearance from Companhia Ambiental do Estado de Sao Paulo to continue the environmental licensing process.
Review is continuing with federal authorities, including the agency that regulates waterway transportation. Once final approvals are received, Grupo Peralta estimates coastal and marine works would take about 36 months to complete.
