Minister Padilha Announces Unprecedented Investments in Port of Santos and Baixada Santista

The Minister-Chief of the Secretariat for Institutional Relations of the Presidency, Alexandre Padilha, stated on Friday (September 20) that the Port of Santos and the Baixada Santista region are going through a historic moment due to federal investments. “It’s no coincidence that Ministers Silvio Costa Filho (Ports and Airports), Rui Costa (Chief of Staff), and President Lula himself visited Santos, here at the port, where initiatives are attracting attention from across the country,” he affirmed.

Padilha mentioned a R$12 billion investment for infrastructure projects at the port, including the tunnel, perimeter roads, deepening the canal, and the Valongo Park; the airport in Guarujá; a new Concais; the expansion of Unifesp; two federal education institutes in Santos and São Vicente; the continuation of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program, with the construction of 2,000 affordable housing units; and health units, among other investments.

The minister entered the Port of Santos through the historic Valongo dock and was welcomed by Anderson Pomini, the president of the Santos Port Authority (APS). He inspected the ongoing work on the second section to be revitalized between warehouses 1 and 3, where port activities began in Brazil. Afterward, he toured the already completed section of Valongo due to a partnership between APS, the Ministry of Ports, the City of Santos, and private investors.

Following that, Padilha headed to the port management headquarters, where he attended a presentation by the president regarding the Investment Plan, complete with a timeline and various details. At the end of the presentation, the minister congratulated Pomini and the entire team, as well as the private terminal operators and union representatives present.

Padilha emphasized that there is no room for pessimism in Brazil, which grew by 2.95% in 2023 and is projected to reach 3% in 2024. “In a year and a half, 180 new markets have been opened globally for Brazilian products; the income of the population, especially the poorest, has increased; in July, one and a half million jobs with formal contracts were created; and Brazil will become a world leader in energy generation, including green hydrogen.”

The chart below compares container exports and imports recorded at Santos between January 2021 and July 2024. The data was sourced from DataLiner, Datamar’s maritime data platform.

Container Exports and Imports | Port of Santos | Jan 2021 – Jul 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

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Minister Padilha met at the APS headquarters with union representatives from the categories operating in the Port of Santos, who requested the maintenance of the public dock, which generates jobs for dockworkers and casual laborers and handles project cargo essential for the Brazilian industry. The union representatives also requested a meeting with President Lula.

“The commitment of our public administration, here with Pomini, which has been maintained with the end of the privatization threat, is to jobs and respect for the cities where the port is located,” Padilha stated, recalling that President Lula has always advocated for the exclusivity of port workers and will respond to the request for a meeting, possibly including a new visit to the region. He also praised the dialogue skills of the APS president and Minister of Entrepreneurship, Márcio França, who the union representatives mentioned, reaffirming President Lula’s commitment to Brazilian port workers.

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