Santos Port Channel to Be Auctioned by February 2026

The auction for the 25-year concession—renewable for up to 70 years—of the navigation channel at the Port of Santos is expected to take place between December 2025 and February 2026. The estimate comes from Brazil’s National Secretary of Ports, Alex Sandro de Ávila, who considered the timeline required to complete the remaining procedural steps.

“We have three phases before the auction, and we are currently in the first,” he said. “All our auctions and concessions are priorities for us. But naturally, for the concession of the channel of the largest port in the country and in the Southern Hemisphere, we’re definitely going to invest extra energy to accelerate all possible deadlines,” Ávila told A Tribuna.

Authorization to begin the concession process was sent on June 3 by the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) to the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq).

In a statement, Antaq confirmed it would internally review the request and submit it to its Board of Directors for deliberation. “Only after this stage will the public consultation schedule be defined, including its duration and participation format, as well as the date and location of the public hearing,” the statement said.

Here is a historical overview of container throughput at the Port of Santos starting from January 2022. The chart was created using DataLiner data:

Container Throughput at the Port of Santos | Jan 2022 – May 2025 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Next Steps
Ávila explained that the technical phase—approval of the studies—has been completed. The documents and project model were submitted to Antaq to initiate the public consultation and hearing procedures. The designated rapporteur is board director Flávia Takafashi. “A technical review is conducted, aligning schedules and agendas so we can move forward,” he said.
Following the public consultation and hearing, all contributions will be compiled and divided between agencies. The Ports Secretariat will handle comments related to public policy, while Antaq will address regulatory aspects such as tariffs.

“Regarding the technical engineering elements of the model and concession project, we have the support of BNDES [Brazilian Development Bank], which developed the technical modeling under the coordination of the National Ports Secretariat,” Ávila added.

Once the final version of the documentation is ready and approved by Antaq, the proposal will be submitted to Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). “We estimate this will take around 60 days—meaning by mid-October, we will be ready to send it,” Ávila said.

The court typically responds within four months. Therefore, the maximum deadline for the auction is February 2026.

The concession for the Santos navigation channel will last 25 years, renewable for up to 70 years, and is expected to be auctioned between December 2025 and February 2026.

Concession May Receive Merchant Marine Fund Financing
Like the channel concession for the Port of Paranaguá (Paraná), there is a good chance the Port of Santos project will also be eligible for financing from the Merchant Marine Fund (FMM). Last Thursday, the FMM’s Board of Directors approved a project that allocates R$1.089 billion to fund investments for the Paranaguá concession.

“I believe Minister [Silvio Costa Filho] will direct us to follow the same path. It’s a possibility. Personally, I fully support this approach, as it aligns well with our goals of qualifying our projects and attracting more competitiveness to our concessions and auctions,” said Ávila.

He emphasized, however, that FMM qualification doesn’t guarantee access to funds. “We presented the project to the Merchant Marine Fund as an attractive option. The Fund has its own rules and processes. Once qualified, it leaves the door open for the future concessionaire to apply for financing under more favorable conditions than the market,” he explained.

Paranaguá Channel Auction Scheduled for September
The next navigation channel auction will be for the Port of Paranaguá in Paraná, according to Ávila.

“The public notice should be published in the coming days, and we aim to hold the auction on the stock exchange in mid-September. All phases have already been completed and approved by the TCU. We are now preparing for publication in coordination with Antaq and the Paranaguá Port Authority,” he explained.

The channel concession process for the Port of Itajaí (SC) has already had a public hearing and is currently with Antaq. “In the next Antaq board meeting, it’s likely this process will be scheduled for deliberation of the public hearing contributions. Everything is consolidated, and we will soon forward it to the TCU,” he projected.

For the Companhia das Docas do Estado da Bahia (Codeba), the process is also at Antaq, with a public hearing expected soon. Meanwhile, for the Port of Rio Grande (RS), studies are still being developed.

“Of the five processes (including Santos), four are at an advanced stage. That means 80% of this canal concession project—called stage 1—is already underway,” said the secretary.

Source: A Tribuna

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