DP World joins Brazil's American Chamber of Commerce as it pushes ahead with its Santos port expansion

DP World just bought itself a policy seat in Brazil: The UAE port operator has joined AmCham Brazil — the American chamber that lobbies on trade, customs, and regulatory policy in the country — as it pushes ahead with a BRL 1.6 bn (c. USD 313.2 mn) expansion at the port of Santos and builds out an end-to-end logistics network across the country, the company said in a press release.

Why it matters: Joining AmCham gives DP World a formal channel into policy conversations on customs procedures, trade facilitation, and regulation just as it scales from single-terminal operator to full logistics network.

The scale of the build-out backs up the commitment: DP World now operates six logistics offices spanning Santos, Sao Paulo, Campinas, Itajaí, Curitiba, and Porto Alegre, offering freight forwarding, contract logistics, and multimodal services. It's also expanding annual container capacity at its Santos terminal to 1.7 mn TEUs by end-2026 — up from a record 1.3 mn TEUs handled last year — with capacity eventually rising to 2.1 mn TEUs.

DP World is broadening its Brazil footprint beyond containers and into the wider supply chain. The firm is adding around 100k sqm of contract-logistics capacity in Brazil. It is also developing a grain and fertilizer terminal at Santos alongside railway operator Rumo, designed to add 12.5 mn tons of annual handling capacity.