Santos–Guarujá tunnel has contract for technical advisory services terminated

The Port Authority will continue monitoring the immersed tunnel project to be installed in the Santos Channel (Vanessa Rodrigues/AT)

The Santos Port Authority (APS) has terminated its contract with the Foundation for Technological Development of Engineering (FDTE), affiliated with the University of São Paulo (USP). FDTE had been hired last year, without a public bidding process, to provide technical advisory services for the Santos–Guarujá immersed tunnel project under a contract valued at BRL 72.8 million. The termination was published in the Federal Official Gazette last Friday (19).

The contract was formalized in March 2025 and had a term of 40 months. In January of this year, the agreement was suspended after the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) opened a civil inquiry to investigate the legality of the foundation's hiring through a bidding waiver.

In a statement, the administration of the Port of Santos reported that the contract “was terminated by mutual agreement” because the continuation of the services became unnecessary following changes made to the project's management and concession model.

When asked about any potential compensation resulting from the early termination of the contract, APS explained that the foundation had not yet begun providing services and that no payments had been made. “No service order was issued, no work was performed, and no payments were made to the contractor. There will also be no compensation, penalties, or other financial obligations arising from the termination.”

The Port of Santos authority further clarified that it “will continue monitoring the development of the project, particularly regarding its impacts on port infrastructure and operations, and will assess, when appropriate, any future need for specialized technical support.”

APS added that it “intends to undertake new specialized procurements focused on financial management, oversight, and technical and engineering monitoring of the tunnel works, in order to ensure the proper use of federal resources and the protection of the interests of the Port of Santos, in compliance with the governance and control guidelines established by the competent authorities, including the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU).”

MPF investigation

In January, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) launched a civil inquiry to verify the legality of the contract signed by APS with FDTE to provide technical advisory services for the execution of the Santos–Guarujá tunnel project. APS subsequently suspended the contract, and no payments were made.

At the time, Federal Prosecutor Thiago Nobre told A Tribuna that the MPF would investigate “the legality of the bidding waiver.”

Among the matters under review were whether the direct hiring of FDTE complied with the requirements of Article 29, Section VII, of Law No. 13,303/2016, particularly regarding the justification for the lack of competition, the relevance of the contractual scope, and the selection of the foundation. The inquiry would also examine whether the contracted scope of work (management of the tunnel project) actually falls within APS's responsibilities. In addition, the contract value and pricing methodology would be investigated, since APS used as a cost benchmark a procurement process conducted by Dersa in 2014, adjusted only for inflation, which may not reflect current market prices for technical advisory services.

Nobre emphasized concerns regarding potential duplication of expenditures, given that the State of São Paulo had already hired the Foundation Institute for Economic Research (Fipe) to structure the project.

The prosecutor also requested information and documents from the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), which confirmed the existence of an ongoing representation proceeding and provided copies of reports and decisions that were added to the MPF inquiry records to support the investigation.

At the time, the MPF reported that APS had defended the legality of the hiring process and informed that the contract was under suspension.

The foundation

FDTE is an independent, non-profit private-law foundation established by the University of São Paulo (USP) in 1972. It manages and carries out studies, projects, and consulting services, connecting technological and innovation demands from public agencies, companies, and third-sector organizations with specialists both within and outside USP.

At the municipal, state, and federal levels, public administrators and managers of state-owned enterprises hire FDTE to conduct studies and research that serve as a basis for policymaking or project implementation.