Santos megaterminal: minister wants STS 10 auction notice issued this year

Ports and Airports Minister Tomé Franca reaffirmed on Tuesday (2) that he intends to issue the auction notice for the Santos 10 Container Terminal, or STS 10, still this year. He said, however, that the timeline does not depend only on the Ministry of Ports and Airports.

A technical note prepared by the Special Secretariat for the Investment Partnership Program, or PPI, which is linked to the Chief of Staff’s Office, is under review by Brazil’s National Waterway Transportation Agency, Antaq. According to the minister, if Antaq proposes changes to the model initially structured for the terminal, the process will need to return to the Federal Audit Court, or TCU, for a new review. If the model is maintained, the auction notice may move forward for publication.

Long-haul operations at the Port of Santos are expanding steadily. According to Datamar data, container imports and exports rose 4.2% in the year to date (January-April 2026). The chart below shows the port’s monthly container export and import volumes:

Exports & Imports | Port of Santos | Jan 2023 – Apr 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

According to Franca, “the project is ready for us to publish the notice and hold the auction still in 2026. That is our timeline.” The minister said he has no preference for a specific model. “My preference is that we can launch the notice, hold the auction and expand container-handling capacity at the Port of Santos.”

So far, the two-stage model for the Tecon Santos 10 auction remains in place. Under that format, shipping lines and operators already active at the Port of Santos are barred from participating in the first stage of the bidding process. They would only be allowed to compete in a second stage, to be opened if there are no interested bidders in the initial phase, provided they give up their current contracts to take over the new lease.

Source: A Tribuna

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