Port of Santos plans to invest R$ 1.4 billion in construction projects and submits schedule to Antaq

Works on the Perimetral Road on the Left Bank are among the planned projects (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

The Santos Port Authority (APS) stated that it submitted an investment schedule totaling R\$ 1.4 billion to the National Agency for Waterway Transportation (Antaq) on May 9. The funds will be allocated to land access infrastructure works at the Port of Santos. The submission reportedly took place before the 15-day deadline set by the federal agency.

“APS has already complied with Antaq by sending a new, much more comprehensive construction schedule, prepared in collaboration with the Sindicato dos Operadores Portuários do Estado de São Paulo (Sopesp). In other words, we are addressing what our predecessors at APS failed to accomplish over the past four years”, said APS president Anderson Pomini in a statement, further noting that “the previous administration invested R\$ 71 million over four years, while the current administration is already implementing an investment plan worth R\$ 12.5 billion in federal funds.”

In March, Sopesp filed a complaint against APS with Antaq, requesting the suspension of port fee charges, alleging that the state-owned company failed to comply with a resolution requiring a tariff review for the period from 2018 to 2021. Sopesp also argued that APS was not adhering to its own physical-financial schedule for the Port’s land infrastructure works.

At the time, Antaq accepted Sopesp’s request and initially granted a 30-day deadline, starting March 24, for the Port of Santos' management to present the physical-economic schedule for the infrastructure works. With the original deadline expiring on April 23, and a possible 15-day extension granted, the new final deadline would be May 8.

When contacted, Sopesp only stated that “the aforementioned proceeding is ongoing with the competent authorities and will be addressed at the appropriate time. ”