Auction of terminal at the Port of Santos may send process back to the TCU for adjustments

The auction for Tecon Santos 10 is the most anticipated in the port sector and will allow the Port of Santos to increase container handling capacity by 50% (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

The director-general of the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq), Frederico Dias, stated that if the Federal Government chooses a third bidding model for the Santos 10 Container Terminal (Tecon Santos 10), at the Port of Santos, the measure will result in the restart of the process. Consequently, the regulatory agency would need to prepare a new bidding notice, and the document would have to be submitted to the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) for review.

The Federal Government has been moving to review the auction model for Tecon Santos 10 since last month. On April 23, the National Secretary of Ports, Alex Sandro de Ávila, sent an official letter to Antaq requesting the temporary suspension of the bidding process and the return of the case files. In the document, Ávila explained that the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) and the Presidential Chief of Staff’s Office (Casa Civil) would jointly conduct “a reassessment of the guidelines, parameters, and technical and modeling assumptions applicable to the lease agreement at the Port of Santos.”

Last week, the Special Secretariat of the Investment Partnerships Program (SEPPI), linked to the Casa Civil, released a technical note suggesting an increase in the minimum concession fee from R\$ 500 million to R\$1.044 billion and the removal of restrictions on shipping companies participating in the auction.

The Casa Civil argued that “no concrete reasons were identified to impose any restrictions on participation in the Tecon Santos 10 bidding process, whether related to vertical or horizontal concentration (provided that divestment occurs). In other words, despite the potential competition-related risks, they are not sufficient to justify an intervention.”

Awaiting a decision

Speaking to A Tribuna , the director-general of the regulatory agency explained that Antaq is currently awaiting notification from the Ministry of Ports and Airports regarding the decision it will make concerning SEPPI’s suggestions. “Antaq is formally awaiting this definition, whether it returns to Antaq’s original decision or adopts the recommendations of the Federal Court of Accounts.”

However, Dias emphasized that if the Federal Government opts for a new bidding format different from the two models already discussed, the agency will have to rebuild the bidding notice. “If we are notified of a proposal for a third model, Antaq will need to make its assessment and draft the bidding notice based on this new guideline.”

According to him, this new structure would necessarily have to return to the Court of Accounts. “This new bidding model, if different from the previous one, will need to be submitted again to the TCU for its review.”

The director-general explained that the court analyzed only the model originally approved by Antaq. “What was submitted to the Federal Court of Accounts was Antaq’s decision. Therefore, if the decision now is neither Antaq’s original one nor the one recommended by the TCU itself, we need to restart the process and resubmit it to the Court.”

In a statement, the MPor only confirmed that it had received the technical note from the Special Secretariat of the PPI and that it “will give due continuation to the process, in accordance with legal rules and procedures.”

Dias explained to A Tribuna that Antaq is awaiting a position from the MPor (Sílvio Luiz/AT)

Two-phase and restrictive model

So far, the two-phase model for the Tecon Santos 10 auction remains in place, with shipping companies and operators from the Port of Santos barred from participating in the first phase. Both would only be allowed to compete in the second phase, if convened (in the event there are no interested parties in the first phase), on the condition that they relinquish their current contracts in order to assume the lease agreement for Tecon Santos 10.

In January, then-Minister of Ports and Airports Silvio Costa Filho justified that he had adopted Antaq’s guidance and the TCU’s recommendations by opting for the restrictive model in order to avoid market concentration. The expectation was to hold the auction by April 30, but it did not materialize.

Structure

Tecon Santos 10 will occupy an area of 621,900 square meters at the Saboó Wharf, in the Port of Santos, with annual operating capacity of 3.25 million TEUs (a unit equivalent to a 20-foot container) and 91,000 tons of general cargo. The contract term is 25 years, with investments totaling R\$6.45 billion. The project includes the construction of four berths for ship loading and unloading operations, as well as a slab structure for the installation of a cruise terminal. The mega terminal will increase container handling capacity at the Port of Santos by 50%.

The projected throughput is 9 million TEUs per year. According to estimates, Santos is expected to reach saturation by 2028 if its infrastructure is not expanded.