Port of Santos access channel expected to go to auction in the first half of 2027

The project provides for a 25-year concession, under a contract worth R\$ 688.1 million, to deepen the channel, currently 15 meters deep, to up to 17 meters (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

The concession of the access channel to the Port of Santos is expected to go to auction in the first half of 2027. The estimate was given by National Ports Secretary Alex Sandro de Ávila in an interview with A Tribuna . The process is in the final stage of the public consultation, which ends next Tuesday.

The contributions will be analyzed by the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor), and any changes will be forwarded for incorporation by the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), which is responsible for structuring the project, within 30 days. The new version will then be submitted to the Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU) for analysis.

“We will consolidate all the contributions. This is a more labor-intensive period, in which we have to go through all of them and determine what we will justify (and discard) and what we will incorporate. The accepted proposals will have to be forwarded to BNDES, and what is known as the second version of the project model will be produced and submitted to TCU”, Ávila said during the 2º Encontro Porto & Mar, organized by Grupo Tribuna last Tuesday at Píer Mauá, in Rio de Janeiro.

“At TCU, we work with an average of four months for the ministers' analysis. But this is a complex project. The country's largest port, consequently, is where we have the largest volume of discussions. I believe it will take somewhat longer than that deadline, and that this project will be ready for auction in the first half of next year.”

Project model

The project model provides for a 25-year concession and a contract with an estimated value of R\$ 688.1 million. Among the responsibilities assigned to the future concessionaire are dredging operations to deepen the channel, currently at 15 meters, first to 16 meters and then to 17 meters.

The public hearing held on September 1 opened a series of discussions. Industry representatives advocated tariff parity and the maintenance of strategic responsibilities for the channel under the Autoridade Portuária de Santos (APS). APS itself expressed concern about possible fragmentation of governance.

“At the Ministry, we have no attachment to the aspects of the technical assumptions and parameters. On the contrary, all contributions aimed at improving the project, making it more advantageous for the Port and providing better conditions for users will certainly, and I can already anticipate this, be incorporated”, said the National Ports Secretary.

According to Ávila, the only issue MPor does not intend to reconsider is the decision to grant the channel to the private sector. The concession of the waterway access channels, he said, is a Federal Government policy and involves five projects at different stages.

The Paranaguá channel, in Paraná, was the first to be granted. Itajaí, in Santa Catarina, is expected to be the second. The channels of Santos and the ports of Rio Grande do Sul are at similar stages, while the Bahia project will require a more substantial restructuring following the comments received during the public consultation.

Rules

The concession model for the Santos channel provides that, during the first three years, the concessionaire will receive 70% of the revenue. After increasing the depth to 16 meters, the percentage will rise to 90%. Once the channel reaches 17 meters, the company is expected to receive 100% of the revenue.

The project estimates gross revenue of R\$ 23 billion over the 25-year period. Operating costs are expected to exceed R\$ 6 billion, while estimated operating cash flow is R\$ 2.8 billion.

The concessionaire will make a fixed contribution of R\$200 million per year to APS.

Success story

The concession of the waterway access channel to the Porto de Paranaguá, in Paraná, is being used by the Federal Government as a positive benchmark. It was carried out in October last year and approved by MPor in December, becoming the country's first access channel to be transferred to the private sector.

In Paranaguá, the channel improvement project totals R\$ 1.22 billion. The plans include widening, rock removal and deepening to 15.5 meters. The current depth is 13.3 meters.

National Ports Secretary Alex Sandro de Ávila chairs the Board of Directors of Portos do Paraná and said he is monitoring the effects of the concession. According to him, the port, users, port community and concessionaire are satisfied with the results.

For the secretary, the logic behind the concession policy is to transfer service execution to the private sector, while keeping the port responsible for coordination and oversight and giving users the tools to demand compliance with contractual obligations.

“When we grant a channel concession, we are taking part of a service and bringing it to the private sector to perform that service, with the port acting as the main coordinator and regulator, and the user as the main party responsible for demanding that it be carried out in the best possible manner, in accordance with what is established in the concession agreement.”