Santos-Guarujá tunnel: federal land may be used as construction site

Federal land located in Vicente de Carvalho, Guarujá, is one of the possible locations for the construction work (Daniel Gois/AT)

A piece of federal land located in Vicente de Carvalho may be used as a construction site for the Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel. Speaking to A Tribuna , Mayor Farid Madi (Podemos) stated that the area near the planned tunnel exit, in the stretch between Prainha and Praça 14 Bis, would be ideal. The plot, which has no buildings on it, lies between Rua Mato Grosso and Rua das Docas, which run parallel to each other.

“It is a large, pre-existing area and will have no impact, as it won’t require any modifications. I believe it is the most suitable location”, said Madi to A Tribuna , noting that the area extends from Rua Santo Amaro to Praça 14 Bis.

Meeting Madi said the selection of the construction site will be one of the main topics at a meeting scheduled for October 9 with the Santos Port Authority (APS) and the Santos City Hall, where details about the immersed tunnel will be discussed. The meeting date has been confirmed by both APS and the Santos municipal administration.

Contract When contacted, the Portuguese company Mota-Engil, which won the auction on September 5, stated only that “it will comment on the project only after the contract is signed.”

According to the State Secretary for Partnerships and Investments, Rafael Benini, the contract is expected to be formalized in November.

Once the contract is signed, the State and the Federal Government will have 60 days to each deposit R\$ 2.7 billion, totaling R\$ 5.14 billion in public funds allocated to the tunnel’s construction. If either party fails to make the deposit, the other has 90 days to cover the full amount.

If the funding is not secured, the concessionaire has the right to withdraw from the contract. The total investment in the project is R\$ 6.8 billion. The remaining R\$ 1.78 billion is the responsibility of the winning company.

Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2026.

Benefits The tunnel will provide greater integration between the nine municipalities of the Baixada Santista region, benefiting around two million people per day. Currently, about 80,000 people cross the channel daily, where the ferry service is considered the busiest in the world (27,000 vehicles per day).

The 1.5 km route of the tunnel (with 870 meters immersed) is expected to be completed by vehicles in under two minutes.

Worker pre-selection canceled The Guarujá City Hall has postponed the pre-selection of workers for 1,000 job openings related to the tunnel construction, which was scheduled for tomorrow and Friday. A new date will be set after the contract is signed by Mota-Engil, the company that won the auction.

“The reason is the wait for the final approval of the auction”, the municipal administration stated in a note yesterday, just days after announcing the selection and confirming that the construction site would be located in the city.

“Once the new date is set, the City Hall will proceed with the pre-selection process, initially for 600 bricklayer positions and 400 general services assistant positions, aimed at local residents.”

The requirement that labor be primarily local is specified in the bidding notice.

“Our challenge is to ensure that this labor force is trained here and absorbed by the project. Just in the construction site, we expect 5,000 workers at the peak of construction”, said Mayor Farid Madi.