Auction of megaterminal in Santos may be postponed due to deadlock within the Federal Government

Tecon Santos 10 will expand container handling capacity by 50% at the cais santista, which is expected to reach saturation by 2028 (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

The Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, stated three weeks ago that the auction of the Container Terminal (Tecon) Santos 10, at the Saboó quay (STS10), in the Port of Santos, would take place by April. However, the promise is unlikely to be fulfilled. A Tribuna has learned that Costa Filho requested the technical staff of MPor to postpone the bidding process to May. After that, however, a deadlock over the megaterminal emerged within the government, generating uncertainty regarding the auction schedule.

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Meeting On Monday, Silvio Costa Filho was summoned to a meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the Minister of the Casa Civil, Rui Costa. The agenda was not disclosed, but the Report learned that Tecon Santos 10 was at the center of the discussion.

The prohibition of participation by shipping companies (owners of ship fleets) in the auction, recommended by the Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU) and which MPor said it will comply with, displeased the Chinese giant Cosco, which is interested in the asset. The shipping company is controlled by the government of China, Brazil’s main trading partner and a country with which Lula maintains an excellent relationship.

Amid negotiations to choose who will replace him at the ministry — since he must step down by April to run for the Senate — Costa Filho was called in to put out this fire. This Wednesday (4), he met with TCU ministers Bruno Dantas and Antônio Anastasia, who had disagreed over the bidding model for Tecon Santos 10 during the Court’s analysis of the matter last year. In addition to shipping companies, the TCU also barred the participation of companies that already operate container terminals in Santos.

Structuring The structuring will be included in the notice, which has not yet been released. MPor was contacted several times by the Report, but chose not to comment on the questions.

The terminal will occupy an area of 621.9 thousand square meters (m²) to handle 3.25 million TEU (a unit equivalent to a 20-foot container) and 91 thousand tons of general cargo per year. The contract term is 25 years, with investments totaling R\$ 6.45 billion.

Centronave calls for reassessment According to the executive director of the Centro Nacional de Navegação Transatlântica (Centronave), Claudio Loureiro, the suspension of the auction schedule would be positive. Representing the interests of shipping companies, he expects that after a reassessment by the Federal Government and the Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU), the option will be for broad competition.

“Our member companies are familiar with risk; they are used to it and equipped for it. Therefore, in a free competition, the tendency would be to offer strong concession fees, because companies have great confidence in what they know and what they understand.”

Loureiro reiterated that companies do not oppose the imposed rules. “They would readily adhere to the regulatory rules established by the Government. If the rule is to divest or submit prices, there would be no problem, because the serious problem today is capacity — we need to increase capacity. All other issues become less relevant, because what we really need is capacity, to improve infrastructure. This is the critical problem of the country and of the Port of Santos as well.”

TCU and APS When contacted, the TCU did not respond to the Report’s inquiries regarding the auction of Tecon Santos 10 by the time this edition went to press.

The president of the Autoridade Portuária de Santos (APS), Anderson Pomini, was also contacted to comment on the case, but could not be reached.