Terminal at the Port of Santos: Antaq urges Federal Government to define auction model

Discussions over the allocation of the Saboó area for container handling have dragged on for years, with missed deadlines and unfulfilled promises (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

The National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) is calling on the Federal Government to define the concession model it intends to adopt for the auction of the Tecon Santos 10 Container Terminal, located at the Saboó quay (STS10), at the Port of Santos.

Discussions over the allocation of the Saboó area for container handling have dragged on for years, with missed deadlines and unfulfilled promises (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

The request was made in an official order signed on Thursday (2) by Antaq Director-General Frederico Dias. The agency also submitted technical analyses of the project to the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) and the Office of the Chief of Staff (Casa Civil).

“There is no doubt that there is institutional space for all participants involved in this joint decision-making process. And where there is room for participation, there are also boundaries and limits. From this perspective, I conclude that it is appropriate at this stage to improve the alignment among the decisions issued by the various stakeholders involved in this process: the regulatory agency, the sectoral ministry, and the Secretariat of the Investment Partnerships Program (SEPPI)”, wrote the Director-General and rapporteur.

In the order, Dias emphasized that it is the Granting Authority's responsibility to establish public policy guidelines, while Antaq is responsible for conducting the bidding process and autonomously deciding on the technical and regulatory aspects of the tender.

“It is Antaq's responsibility to ensure that the process moves forward based on sound, consistent, and fully formalized grounds. In doing so, we contribute to the robustness of the administrative proceedings and to the legal certainty of subsequent decisions”, he stated.

Progress of the case

On April 23, the Federal Government requested that Antaq temporarily suspend the Tecon Santos 10 bidding process. At the time, the justification was that “new guidelines and parameters” aimed at “improving the concession model and better serving the public interest in port services” were under discussion within the MPor and Casa Civil.

Subsequently, on May 6, the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Presidency of the Republic urged the MPor to expedite the adaptation of the concession model for the tender process. In addition, in a technical note signed by Deputy Secretary for Economic Infrastructure Adailton Cardoso Dias, the agency suggested removing the restrictions proposed by Antaq and the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), arguing that current operators at the Port of Santos should be allowed to participate from the first stage of the bidding process.

Later that same month, Antaq Director-General Frederico Dias told A Tribuna that if the Federal Government opted for a third concession model, the entire process would have to restart. This would require the regulatory agency to prepare a new bidding notice, which would then have to be resubmitted to the TCU for review.

“Structural changes to the model at this stage would require a new review by the TCU. Sending the process back would result in delays, jeopardizing the possibility of holding the auction in 2026”, Dias reiterated in the official order.

Restrictions remain in place

For now, the two-stage auction model for Tecon Santos 10 remains in force, prohibiting shipping companies (vessel owners) and companies that already operate terminals at the Port of Santos from participating in the first stage. Both groups would only be allowed to participate in a highly unlikely second stage if there were no bidders in the first phase, provided they relinquish their current terminal agreements in order to assume the new concession.

“The bidding model underwent the entire standard regulatory decision-making process: technical review, unanimous approval of the technical conclusions by the Board of Directors, endorsement by the Ministry of Ports and Airports, and finally approval by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). Furthermore, the Statement of Justification drafted by the Ministry itself would be inconsistent with the subsequent Technical Note issued by the SEPPI”, Antaq stated in a note.

Frederico Dias also argued that the differing approaches, while understandable given the distinct institutional roles, create uncertainty regarding the guidelines that should effectively govern the design of the bidding process.

“To preserve the integrity of the procedure, there is a clear need for the Granting Authority to formally consolidate its guidance in a more explicit manner. This may require the issuance of a new Statement of Justification or a supplementary act capable of unequivocally reflecting the government guidelines applicable to this case.”

The Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) and the Office of the Chief of Staff (Casa Civil) were contacted but had not responded by the time this report was finalized.

Tecon Santos 10 will occupy an area of 621,900 square meters (m²) at the Saboó quay, with annual capacity to handle 3.25 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and 91,000 metric tons of general cargo. The concession agreement will run for 25 years and involves investments totaling BRL 6.45 billion.

Uncertainty

In early June, during an interview on the Bom Dia, Ministro! program on YouTube, Minister of Ports and Airports Tomé Franca reaffirmed that the current schedule still provides for the auction to take place in 2026, repeating statements made on previous occasions while emphasizing that the timetable does not depend solely on the MPor.

Franca stated that if changes are made to the concession model originally designed for the terminal, the process will have to return to the TCU for a new review. If the current model is maintained, the bidding notice may proceed to publication.