Leonardo Signs Wide-Ranging Partnership Agreement in Brazil to Collaborate on Urban Security and Infrastructure Projects

Leonardo has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Brazilian company Codemar (Companhia de Desenvolvimento de Maricá), which promotes socio-economic development in the prefecture of Maricá. The MoU was signed during LAAD 2019, Latin America’s biggest defence and security exhibition.

The agreement will see the two companies working together on projects in areas such as urban security, critical infrastructure resilience and the modernisation and protection of ports and airports.

The two companies will seek to develop the prefecture’s industrial base by offering opportunities to improve its technological expertise; one joint undertaking could see Leonardo and Codemar developing a helicopter maintenance hub at Maricá airport.

Leonardo has chosen to focus on Maricà because of the prefecture’s high potential for economic development: partly due to the prefecture’s strong revenues from oil royalties and partly because of its proximity to Rio de Janeiro.

The local administration has outlined a clear sustainable growth strategy with a focus on safety and security and the development of high-tech local industry, making Leonardo ideally suited as a technology partner. The memorandum of understanding provides for a number of activities through which Leonardo will exchange expertise with Codemar and will see the two companies evaluate various opportunities for future work including a Maricá-based technology park.

Leonardo already actively supports urban security and infrastructure across Latin America, such as in Argentina where the Company is involved in a major intelligent urban mobility project. There, the Company is providing a software platform for data integration which will benefit both commuters and tourists. Through the partnership between Leonardo and Codemar, similarly ambitious projects can be established in Brazil.

Another area of interest for the collaboration is a potential helicopter maintenance hub at Maricà airport. This could provide innovative services for helicopters employed for offshore operations across the region.

With a population of around 150,000, Maricà is positioned to become an important national hub for oil and gas operations, supporting the extraction, storage and processing of crude oil throughout Brazil. The stage is therefore set for new high-tech projects to emerge to improve public safety and the effectiveness of local infrastructure for both citizens and visiting tourists. Codemar, in line with with its mission to promote the sustainable growth of Maricà and the wider East Fluminense region, will address these opportunities via partnerships with public and private entities.