Auction for the Santos-Guarujá tunnel to proceed this friday despite request for suspension by the MPTCU

The auction for the Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel will proceed as scheduled this Friday (5), starting at 4:00 p.m., at the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3), despite a request for suspension of the bidding process filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office with the Federal Court of Accounts (MPTCU). This position was confirmed yesterday by both the Federal and State governments. Meanwhile, the Court of Accounts stated that “no process has yet been opened to analyze” the MPTCU’s request.

In a statement to A Tribuna, the State Secretariat for Partnerships and Investments (SPI), which is conducting the bidding process, did not comment on the request filed on Tuesday by Deputy Prosecutor Lucas Furtado and simply stated that the auction is confirmed. The Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) also confirmed the auction. In his petition to the TCU, Furtado pointed to indications that the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) may have favored foreign groups, thereby hindering the participation of Brazilian construction companies in the process.

The request was based on a report published by Folha de S.Paulo on Tuesday, which stated that domestic companies such as Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez withdrew from the competition after failing to meet financing and guarantee requirements imposed by the BNDES. As a result, only two foreign groups submitted proposals and are qualified for tomorrow’s auction: the Spanish company Acciona and the Portuguese firm Mota-Engil, the latter with shareholding participation from the Chinese company CCCC.

To A Tribuna, the TCU confirmed receipt of the request but stated that “no process has yet been opened for analysis. The TCU has not yet reviewed the matter; therefore, there is no decision by the Court on this representation.” Once the process is initiated, the representation will be sent to the TCU’s technical department for analysis and then forwarded to the case’s rapporteur, Minister Bruno Dantas.

In a separate statement, the BNDES reported that “it has not received any official communication from the MPTCU and reiterates that there is no request for private financing for the construction of the Santos-Guarujá tunnel.”

The President of the Santos Port Authority (APS), Anderson Pomini, said it is natural that “requests for suspension, challenges, and inquiries arise regarding a project as significant as the tunnel.” He further emphasized that the auction is proceeding and confirmed the attendance of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, at B3.

Adjustments On August 27, Minister Bruno Dantas met with representatives of the Federal Government, the State Government, and APS, and demanded adjustments to the delegation agreement of responsibilities for the PPP of the immersed tunnel to ensure legal certainty. The future concessionaire will sign a 30-year contract for the construction and operation of the tunnel. The total investment amounts to R\$ 6.8 billion, of which R\$ 5.14 billion will be funded by the Federal and State governments, with the remainder covered by the concessionaire.