Potential activities

• Beekeeping
• Handicrafts
• Shrimp Farming
• Civil Construction
• Fruit Farming
• Ornamental Stones / Gems
• Goat and Sheep Farming
• Dairy Farming
• Tourism
• Textiles and Clothing Manufacture

Assu Mossoró Integrated Development Cluster

Encompassing the municipalities of Afonso Bezerra, Alto do Rodrigues, Assu, Baraúna, Carnaubais, Ipanguaçu, Itajá, Mossoró, Pendências, Serra do Mel and Upanema, the Cluster's most economically active urban centers are the towns of Mossoró and Assu. The Cluster is located in the far west of Rio Grande do Norte and is characterized by fruit production and irrigated vegetable farming.

As the main producer of melon and watermelon, the Cluster has well-developed productive and commercial chains for these products.

In addition to agribusiness linked to fruit farming, the Cluster also performs other activities, with specialized consultants, project and technical support offices, rural tourism, mechanical workshops, specialized courses in rural and agro-industrial activities as well as agricultural trade and agribusiness logistics. 

One attraction in terms of transport logistics for export and domestic consumption is the closeness of the Cluster to the port of Mucuripe in Fortaleza, via highway BR 304 to Aracati and BR 116 to Fortaleza and Belém (northern route) and proximity to the Ports of Natal, Cabedelo and Suape via Highways BR 304 and  BR 101 (eastern / southern route).

There is large water-resource potential, represented by a supply of 2.4 billion cubic meters of water at the Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves Dam, on the Piranhas River. There are public irrigation projects already in place and undergoing implementation and large areas of private irrigation linked to the several capitals of the Northeast by paved highways and railways with access to ports and airports.

The cluster also offers a well structured banking network, several telecommunications services, power and quality hotels and hospitals.

Business opportunities arise for manufacture and sale of machinery and equipment, sale of fuel, production and retail of packaging and agro-chemical sales, production of seedlings, packing houses, fruit juice, candy and pulp industries, concentrates, wholesalers, transporters, trading companies and others.

There are also areas for fruit production (banana, papaya, mango, grapes, ata fruit, Caribbean cherry, guanabana, coconut and others), vegetables (melon, watermelon etc), cashew apple and nuts as well as sheep and goat farming.

Other opportunities in the Service Sector; project and technical support offices; specialist farming consultants; soil, water and plant analysis laboratories; mobile patrol; specialized courses in rural, agro-industrial and agricultural trading activities; agribusiness logistics.

Tourism Cluster – Costa das Dunas

The Costa das Dunas Cluster includes 16 municipalities, benefiting over 1.1 million people, the size of the resident population. It encompasses all the eastern coast and part of the northern coast of the State, stretching for around 200 km, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The flow of tourists is mainly concentrated on the stretch of coastline south of the capital, with many beaches, dunes, lakes, important Atlantic Forest Reserves (Baía Formosa, Natal and Tibau do Sul) and cliffs. On the Northern coast, there are abundant coral reefs, comprising the remains of seaweeds and skeletons of animals that live in colonies; large permanent and mobile dunes; beautiful lakes and breathtaking beaches. This cluster also offers a large number of cultural attractions which tell a little of the rich history of Rio Grande do Norte.

Investment opportunities include, most notably: hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, water sports, camping, ecological tourism and several services, especially those associated with production and trading of handicrafts.

Infrastructure

Highways

The State has a well-developed highway network, totaling 5935 km. Federal highways cross the State in both North-South and East-West directions, notably the BR-101 which goes as far as the south of Brazil.

Railways

The railway network, administered by the Northeastern Railway Company, connects the State to the whole country by linking with other railways. There is a direct line to the Port of Natal.

Airports

Rio Grande do Norte has two airports, the international one located in the municipality of Parnamirim, in the Greater Natal region, and the other, for domestic flights, located in Mossoró. The Augusto Severo International Airport has capacity to receive large-scale aircraft, enabling a flow of tourists and cargo.

Ports 

The State has three ports, all administered by the Rio Grande do Norte Dock Company, located in the municipalities of Natal, Areia Branca and Guamaré.

There is road access to all ports. However, only the port in Natal has rail access.

The Port of Natal enables docking of small and medium-keel ships, connecting with the ports of the five continents. It is the closest South American port to Europe. Around 50m north of the wharf, there is the Dunas Píer Petroleum Terminal, belonging to Petrobrás. This company also has, in the municipality of Guamaré (RN), a wharf for refrigerated containers, taps for supply of water and a team specialized in the handling of crude oil (petroleum). 

Fiscal incentives

The Rio Grande do Norte Incentive Policy benefits enterprises geared towards industrialization in agricultural, industrial, mining, farming, agro-industrial and technology areas, as well as those in foreign trade and tourism. The incentives cover the hypotheses of implementation, expansion, modernization, diversification and renovation of enterprises, obeying the conditions of feasibility and potential for growth.

The state has two industrial incentive schemes: the Program for Supporting Industrial Development of Rio Grande do Norte – PROADI and the Program for Supporting Gas-Salt Cluster Activities – PROGÁS.

PROADI seeks to support and increase industrial development, through financing Sales Tax. PROADI is aimed at ensuring granting of loans to industries, in the form of a Loan Agreement with Periodic Release, through an official bank licensed by the State Government.

PROGÁS, however, seeks to encourage industrialization of the state, ensuring supply of natural gas at a subsidized price to companies considered essential for development of Rio Grande do Norte. For further information, visit the site http://www.sintec.rn.gov.br/.

More information

www.rn.gov.br

www.transportes.gov.br/bit/aeroportos/gaernat.html

www.codern.com.br

www.cosern.com.br

www.caern.com.br/

www.sedec.rn.gov.br/

www.pologassal.rn.gov.br/

www.sintec.rn.gov.br/