Santos Port channel to be deepened after 13 years

Approximately 6.2 million m³ of sediment are expected to be removed per year, 38% above the current requirement (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

The Santos Port Authority (APS) has opened a public tender to increase the navigation channel depth at the port to 16 meters. This will be the first project of its kind on this route in 13 years. The public notice was published in Thursday’s edition of the Official Journal of Union, and bids will be opened on September 26. The estimated cost is R\$ 324.1 million.

APS president Anderson Pomini describes the initiative as “a necessity for the international market” and “the first step toward, subsequently, seeking a concession to deepen the channel to 17 meters and maintain it for 25 years or more.”

The winning company or consortium will be responsible for maintaining the dredged depth for two years. Around 6.2 million cubic meters (m³) of sediment must be removed annually — 38% more than currently needed to maintain the existing 15-meter depth.

The contract term is five years. It includes preparation of the Environmental Impact Study and Report (EIA/RIMA) for environmental licensing (within one year and nine months), development and delivery of the basic design (four months after the service order is issued), and the detailed engineering design (two months after the respective order is given).

Once the service order for the deepening dredging is issued, work must begin within 30 days and be completed within six months, including the mobilization period. The channel extends for 25 kilometers.

Studies To prepare the bidding documents, the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Hidroviárias, affiliated with the Departamento Nacional de Infraestrutura de Transportes (Dnit), developed the dredging preliminary design.

At the Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (Poli-USP), annual sediment accumulation rates in the channel were studied.