Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Ken Stewart, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development welcome Consul General Adalnio Ganem at the State Capitol Feb. 6. CLICK FOR GLOBALATLANTA VIDEO REPORT

Atlanta’s new Brazilian consulate still has not announced its official launch date, but activity at the consulate is ramping up as construction of the consulate office nears completion.

After some final carpentry work completed at the end of the week, employees will begin to move into their newly fitted space on the eighth floor of the One Alliance Center building in Buckhead, Silvia Kang, assistant to Consul General Adalnio Senna Ganem, told GlobalAtlanta.

Currently, the consulate is operating out of temporary space on the sixth floor of the same building, which is at 3500 Lenox Rd. just off Georgia Highway 400. 

The consulate offered appointment-only services last Saturday and Sunday.

At a May 2 breakfast hosted in the sixth-floor space, Mr. Ganem told an audience that the consulate is renewing operations in the six-state Southeast region at an opportune moment.

Brazil attracted $35 billion in foreign investment in 2007 and recently joined 13 other nations that have an “investment grade” rating by Standard & Poor’s, a firm that assigns national credit rankings and evaluates countries’ financial risk factors, he told GlobalAtlanta at the time.

That same day, Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle left on a trade mission to Brazil, where he explored possibility for collaboration in the biofuel industry, a field in which Brazil is a world leader and Georgia seeks to excel.

Brazil is launching a $300 billion infrastructure project and is seeking investors across the U.S.  Atlanta was the first stop on a road show aimed at educating potential partners about the opportunities the program provides.  

Mr. Ganem told that audience at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce that the consulate will open this month.  It will employ nearly 20 people at the outset, and the number could rise to 30 as activity increases.