Legal uncertainty at ports increases costs and drives investment away from Brazil

The topic will be discussed at Summit Antaq 2026, one of Brazil’s most prestigious port industry events (Dimmy Falcão, special to A Tribuna)

The amount of capital involved in a port investment is directly linked to legal stability. The topic will be addressed at Summit Antaq 2026, organized by Grupo Tribuna in partnership with the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq). The event is scheduled for November 18 at the Complexo Brasil 21, in Brasília. The meeting will bring together government officials, experts and industry representatives to discuss challenges and prospects for Brazilian ports.

Daniel Pedreira Dorea, Chief Financial and Investor Relations Officer at Santos Brasil, will be one of the speakers on the panel entitled Legal Stability Before and After the Auction. He highlights the magnitude of the issue. “Legal stability is a critical factor for infrastructure investments, if not the most important one. To a large extent, it determines whether an infrastructure auction attracts long-term capital and at what cost”, he says.

Dorea draws attention to the difficulties of achieving legal stability both before and after an auction, given the high level of litigation in Brazil. “There are also many stakeholders involved in the process, with multiple oversight bodies and levels of review, both before and after the signing of a concession or lease agreement”, he adds.

In this context, the Santos Brasil executive points out that, no matter how much legal stability is promised, guaranteeing it fully throughout the implementation of a project is hardly credible. “Investors are aware of this and, therefore, factor this risk into their pricing”, he emphasizes.

To at least mitigate the situation, Dorea identifies several areas in which legal stability in Brazil could be improved. “I would highlight the strengthening of oversight bodies, such as independent regulatory agencies, swift dispute resolution mechanisms, clear compensation rules, a binding risk allocation matrix, among other measures”, he lists.

NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL SOLUTION

Keyla Boaventura, Secretary for External Oversight of Infrastructure at the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), makes it clear that there is no single formula for achieving legal stability. However, she believes the way forward lies in improving logistics planning, from the national level to sector-specific plans, ensuring that they cease to be merely plans on paper and actually guide public officials' decisions. She will also take part in the Legal Stability Before and After the Auction panel at Summit Antaq 2026.

“It is important to invest in a portfolio of high-quality projects and bring them to market. We still see many changes and reversals in projects. For example, projects that have already undergone TCU review, such as Tecon Santos 10, the concession for the access channel to the Port of Itajaí, in Santa Catarina, and the VDC29 lease (intended for the handling and storage of dry bulk agricultural commodities, specifically soybeans and corn, at the Port of Vila do Conde, in Barcarena, Pará) have yet to have their bidding notices published”, she explains.

Another point highlighted by the secretary is the need to ensure that oversight and regulatory bodies have the resources and conditions required to exercise their legally assigned responsibilities.

“We have seen regulatory agencies facing budgetary and financial difficulties, which may undermine the autonomy granted to them by law. In each of these areas, the TCU has already carried out reviews, including monitoring national logistics plans, overseeing each of the privatization processes I have mentioned, and conducting a performance audit on the structure of regulatory agencies, which is currently being finalized”, she explains.

Summit Antaq will be moderated by Maxwell Rodrigues, Grupo Tribuna 's consultant for port affairs. Registration is available here.

PROGRAM

2:00 p.m. – Opening remarks Marcos Clemente Santini, CEO of A Tribuna

2:10 p.m. – Addresses Tomé Franca, Minister of Ports and Airports

Frederico Dias, Director-General of the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq)

2:30 p.m. – Presentation Caio Farias, Antaq director

3:00 p.m. – Panel: Legal Stability Before and After the Auction Alex Sandro de Ávila, National Secretary of Ports

Daniel Pedreira Dorea, CFO of Santos Brasil

Alber Vasconcelos, Antaq director

Keyla Boaventura, Secretary for External Oversight of Infrastructure at the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU)

Renildo Barros, Superintendent of Concessions and Authorizations at Antaq

Tribuna Talks Thiago Miller and Fabio Silveira, attorneys

4:30 p.m. – Panel: Responsive Regulation: A Barrier or an Incentive for Innovation and Sustainability? José Renato Ribas Fialho, Superintendent of Regulation at Antaq

Fábio Lavor, Executive Director of the National Center for Transatlantic Navigation (Centronave)

Flávia Takafashi, leader of Mulheres a Bordo

Alexandre Billot, General Manager of Portocel

Tribuna Talks Gilmara Temóteo, Executive Director of the Brazilian Association of Port and Waterway Authorities (Abeph)

Pedro Neiva, attorney