Concession of the Port of Santos navigation channel: Antaq schedules public hearing

Minimum mandatory investment in infrastructure, through the eighth year of the contract, is R\$ 688.1 million (Sílvio Luiz/AT)

The National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq) has set a new date for the public hearing on the concession of the navigation channel of the Port of Santos. The hearing will be held on September 1 at 2 p.m., in a hybrid format (in person and online). The objective is to receive contributions to improve the technical and legal documents related to the bidding process.

The session will be held in person at the auditorium of Antaq’s headquarters in Brasília and virtually via the Microsoft Teams platform, ending after the final statement by the last accredited participant.

The event will be broadcast live online, recorded, and made available on the Agency’s YouTube channel. No registration will be required to attend the hearing.

Those interested in speaking, however, must register via WhatsApp at (61) 2029-6940, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on August 31. After registration closes, participants in the virtual format will receive the link to access the Teams meeting. “At the auditorium, preference will be given to those registered to make oral statements, subject to the venue’s capacity”, Antaq said.

Why?

Antaq explains that the date was set following extensions granted to the public consultation period. The first, for 60 days, was granted in response to a request from the Santos Port Authority (APS), the agency explains.

“Subsequently, following a new request from APS, Antaq consulted the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor), which expressed its support for granting one final extension of the deadline. The extensions resulted from public policy issues raised during the processing of the case.”

Initially, the public hearing was to be held exclusively online on April 23. At the time, Antaq canceled the meeting, stating that a new date would be announced “in due course” and that the format would be changed to a hybrid one, with an in-person stage in Brasília. The new date was announced nearly four months later.

Amount

The project involves a financial flow of R\$ 23.4 billion over the 25-year contract, which may be extended for up to 70 years. The minimum mandatory investment in infrastructure, through the eighth year of the contract, is R\$ 688.1 million.

Santos channel concession model includes dredging to deepen the channel to 16 and 17 meters (Sílvio Luiz/AT)

Public consultation to continue through the end of next month

Extended for the third time at the beginning of this month, the public consultation on the concession of the waterway channel serving the Santos port complex will remain open until September 29. It was opened on March 17. Initially, it was scheduled to end on May 2, but was first extended until July 1 and subsequently until July 31.

The agency will consider contributions concerning the draft documents submitted for public consultation and the public hearing, provided through the electronic form available here.

Written contributions must be entered in the appropriate fields of the electronic form, with the contributor’s identification. Digital images, such as maps, plans, and photographs, may be attached and sent by email to anexoaudiencia022026@antaq.gov.br.

The concession model for the Santos waterway channel includes dredging to deepen the channel to 16 and 17 meters, a feasibility study for a depth of 18 meters, and maintenance dredging. The navigation channel is 24.6 kilometers long (divided into four sections), 220 meters wide, and 15 meters deep, with an approved operating draft ranging from 13.5 meters at low tide to 14.5 meters at high tide.

The concession project is considered strategic for national logistics. The studies reached Antaq in August 2025 but underwent reassessments and technical adjustments.

Following the public consultation and public hearing, the contributions are expected to inform the project’s final adjustments before it is forwarded to the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) and the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), steps required for publication of the bidding notice.