New cruise terminal in Santos could be funded by the Port Authority if megaterminal auction does not proceed

Facing Parque Valongo, the new terminal would have the capacity to accommodate up to three ships carrying 6,000 passengers each simultaneously (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

Federal Congressman Paulo Alexandre Barbosa (PSD) and the President of the Santos Port Authority (APS), Anderson Pomini, confirmed that they have agreed on an alternative investment solution to ensure the relocation of the Giusfredo Santini Maritime Passenger Terminal, operated by Concais, to the Valongo area within the Port of Santos. The proposal is for APS to provide the necessary funding should the auction of the Santos 10 Container Terminal (Tecon Santos 10), which has not yet been scheduled, fail to take place.

Under the original proposal, the winner of the Tecon Santos 10 concession auction, located at the Saboó waterfront, would allocate BRL 1.2 billion to finance the offshore works of the future terminal, including the construction of a pier and berths for vessel mooring.

In a statement, Barbosa said that he aligned with the Port of Santos administration on the possibility of using APS funds to make the tourism facility feasible should the Tecon Santos 10 bidding process not move forward, “given the delays caused by the judicialization of the process.” The meeting took place last week.

“If Tecon proceeds, excellent — the winning bidder will carry out the project. If it does not proceed, APS has sufficient cash reserves to execute the passenger terminal project”, the congressman stated.

The cruise terminal currently operates at the Outeirinhos waterfront, with the capacity to handle 1.2 million passengers. The future terminal could significantly expand this number. “Each traveler passing through the Port spends between BRL 500 and BRL 600 in the local economy, so we are talking about billions of reais injected into the economy”, the congressman emphasized.

When contacted, APS President Anderson Pomini stated that there are no regulatory restrictions on such funding. “Antaq’s decision made it clear that, if the Tecon 10 auction does not take place, the Port may provide the investment required for construction using other funding sources, including its own resources.”

The congressman added that the project schedule has already been established, that the Technical, Economic, and Environmental Feasibility Study (EVTEA) for the terminal will be submitted to Antaq for review in July, and that it will subsequently be forwarded to the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). “The expectation is that the contract will be signed by the end of this year, allowing relocation works to begin as early as next year”, he said.

Antaq sees no obstacles to the relocation

The National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) had already concluded in 2025 that there are no impediments to relocating the passenger terminal from Outeirinhos to Valongo.

At the time, Antaq clarified to A Tribuna that its analysis was conducted in an advisory rather than authorizing capacity, based on a consultation submitted by the National Ports Secretariat (SNP) of the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor), considering the proposed amendment to the lease agreement between Concais and the Santos Port Authority (APS).

Concais’ lease agreement was renewed in 2018 and remains valid until 2038, with the possibility of extension until 2048 should the area exchange be implemented. According to APS, replacing the currently leased area with an unleased area within the organized port is legally supported.

Under the scenario in which the agreement is not extended beyond 2038, Antaq determined that the maximum amount of additional investment that could be absorbed by the lessee while maintaining the contract’s economic and financial balance is BRL 447 million (June 2023 values).

As the estimated cost of the onshore facilities reaches BRL 662 million, the difference of approximately BRL 215 million would need to be assumed by the granting authority.

Under the scenario in which the agreement is extended until 2048, the maximum additional investment that could be borne by the lessee increases to approximately BRL 568 million. Even so, an additional contribution of around BRL 93.8 million from APS would still be required to make the onshore facilities feasible.

In both scenarios, Antaq emphasized at the time that implementation of the offshore facilities remains the responsibility of the granting authority.

When contacted, Concais had not responded by the time this article was published.