Vale to invest US$12bn in logistics infrastructure by 2012

With a budget of US$12bn to be invested in infrastructure by 2012, Brazilian mining company Vale (NYSE: RIO) is an example of the private sector resolving its own logistics problems, local news service Agência Estado reported. Investments will focus on the company's railway concessions and port terminals, the report said. According to Vale, it has been responsible for about 65% of investments in these two sectors in recent years. Without revealing how much each sector has received, Vale said that it invested US$13.5bn in logistics during the 2003-07 period. For this year, another US$1.8bn is expected to be disbursed. Logistics marketing director Marcelo Spinelli said the company's investment figures show the efforts of private companies to improve their businesses. "The concern is greatest at a time like this, when Brazil is exporting large amounts of commodities such as iron ore and soybeans. The country needs to seize this opportunity," he was quoted as saying. Future investments include improving logistics at its iron ore terminal in Rio de Janeiro state's Itaguaí. The company also plans to invest in the Norte-Sul railway, as well as in the rehabilitation and expansion of the Centro Atlântica railway in Minas Gerais state.