Obstacles block 17 private-use terminals and stall R$ 36 billion in investments in Brazil

Private-use terminals are those built outside the areas of organized ports and require only authorization, with a faster procedure, unlike those located within port boundaries, whose areas are leased after auction (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

Since the Ports Law (12.815) in 2013, which created the current private-use terminal (TUP) model outside organized ports, 17 companies in the country that had the construction of terminals authorized by the Federal Government have not moved their projects forward. More than R\$ 36.8 billion in investments were not carried out, in addition to 533,100 jobs that were not generated.

The data appear in the report Diagnóstico sobre a Implantação de Terminais de Uso Privado, published by Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários (Antaq) at the end of last year. It provides an overview of TUPs. Of the 70 authorized after 2013, 17 are not operating. Two of them are in Baixada Santista: Terminal Portuário Brites (TPB) and Terminal Marítimo da Alemoa.

The study analyzed terminals authorized between 2013 and 2019 that did not begin operations within the five-year period established by Decree 8.033/2013. The reasons for the delays, requests for deadline extensions, types of cargo planned, as well as unused investments and areas were also examined.

According to the report, the main causes of delays are environmental, financial, and judicial issues, accounting for more than half of the obstacles identified.

Regarding environmental issues, of the 17 non-operational TUPs granted after 2013, eight reported difficulties in obtaining environmental licensing, representing 27.59% of the reported obstacles. “These projects, which normally involve the use of large areas, are often located in environmentally sensitive regions with high biodiversity, such as preservation areas, sandbanks, mangroves, river mouths, and islands”, the report states.

In addition, the document notes that the presence of traditional communities in these areas “increases the level of requirements and rigor in the analysis of environmental licensing requests, which further hinders the initiation, development, and completion of these projects.”

Profile

Among the 17 authorized terminals that have not moved forward since 2013, 14 (82.35% of mentions) indicated an intention to handle dry bulk cargo; 12 (70.59%) liquid and/or gaseous bulk; 10 (58.82%) general cargo; and only 4 (23.53%) intend to handle containerized cargo. Most facilities declared, when applying for the grant, their interest in handling more than one cargo profile.

Another finding in the report shows that, regarding legal deadline extensions for the 17 unbuilt terminals, 11 of them (64.71%) have already had their operational start deadlines extended, and three (17.65%) have requested an extension. The remaining three terminals had not provided information on extension requests by the conclusion of the study.

Causes

According to the report by Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários (Antaq), the main causes of delays are environmental, financial, and judicial issues, accounting for more than half of the identified obstacles.

Unbuilt areas equal 6,769 fields

Together, the 17 unbuilt private terminals represent the unavailability of approximately 48.33 million square meters (m²) of port area, equivalent to about 6,769 official soccer fields.

Antaq’s survey states that “the economic and social impacts of a TUP that does not begin its activities within the legal deadline are substantial. Economically, the delay results in significant financial losses for the terminal operator, clients, and business partners, including additional storage costs, the use of more expensive alternative transportation routes, and lost business opportunities, negatively affecting competitiveness and logistical efficiency.”

The Agency’s report further concludes that “the lack of terminal operation impacts sector planning, logistics, and the efficiency of waterway transportation in the country, potentially resulting in congestion and overload at other ports.”

Statements

According to the director of the company responsible for Terminal Marítimo da Alemoa, João Maria Menano, the site now has a renewed construction schedule. Regulatory and environmental licenses have already been finalized and are in the final stage before execution begins.

“The completed terminal will have an additional 90,000 m² of area and three berths with a draft of 14 meters. Investment in what is referred to as superstructure will be in the order of R\$ 300 million”, he notes. According to Menano, it took 16 years for the licensing procedures to be completed.

In the case of Terminal Portuário Brites (TPB), the nearly eight-year delay was due to a “public civil action that was won and is now res judicata”, the company responsible states. “The initial application for the Installation License (LI) was filed on March 23, 2023, and the company has been meeting the environmental agency’s requests with each opinion issued — a complex and lengthy process inherent to a large-scale port infrastructure project”, it says.

The requirements of the fourth review opinion regarding the LI application submitted to Ibama were met and filed in January of this year. After Ibama’s approval, a one-year period begins for the execution of environmental conditions, during which authorization for vegetation suppression and the construction permit will also be obtained. Following project approval, construction will begin.

Terminal Marítimo da Alemoa has had its construction schedule renewed. Regulatory and environmental licensing have already been finalized and are in the final stage before the start of execution (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

ATP challenges figures presented by the agency

The Associação de Terminais Portuários Privados (ATP) disputes the figures presented by Antaq in its diagnosis of TUPs. According to the executive director, Gabriela Costa, of 287 private terminals, 221 are in operation, and of the remaining 66, 54 are regular — meaning their contracts are within the established deadlines. Only 12 would be irregular, outside deadlines and without any coverage.

“Of these 12, seven are already being processed, three have requested waiver and relinquished their grant. Four have requested changes to their schedule, although still without a response from the granting authority (the Union). Thus, we effectively have an irregularity rate of 12 out of 287, which corresponds to 4.2%”, she states.

According to her, contracts are considered regular if they are within the deadline. There are two deadlines: the initial one, five years to complete construction and begin operations; and amendments, since in some cases five years are not sufficient.

Gabriela explains that the entity has been working closely with terminals, whether members or not, to understand how the private terminal adhesion contract model operates and to strengthen it.

“Regarding the reasons why terminals sometimes face difficulty executing within the granted deadline, we identified three main causes: delays in environmental licensing processes; and processes with SPU (Secretaria de Patrimônio da União), because there is a very significant delay in granting (space in) water.”

She emphasizes that the idea that the Private-Use Terminal has a faster and more flexible adhesion contract than lease agreements runs into an important issue. “When you sign the adhesion contract, it is not an arrival point but a starting point. From the moment of signing, management efforts begin to obtain licenses from environmental and property authorities.”

According to her, the concern is to strengthen understanding among these agencies of how the port sector operates. “ATP has been trying to strengthen these ties with both Ibama and SPU, to convey to many of these technical staff the importance of the port sector.”

In her view, property issues deserve special attention. “To have a port facility, it is natural that you need the water portion. It makes no sense to have authorization for the land portion and face so much difficulty obtaining the water portion. So we are trying to make these processes align.”

Growth

According to a study sent by ATP to Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários (Antaq), authorized terminals already account for 64.6% of all port cargo handling in the country. TUPs grew 7% in 2025, handling 906.1 million tons.

In addition, the 7% increase in cargo handling in 2025 was driven by dry bulk (538.1 million tons, up 7.19% year-over-year), liquid and gaseous bulk (271.7 million tons, up 7.87%), and containerized cargo (56.9 million tons, up 6.09%).