Santos truck-yard project stalls as cost tops R$3 billion

A planned logistics complex with a truck staging yard on Ilha do Tatu, in Cubatão, remains stalled nearly a year and a half after the contract was signed, amid environmental and urban-planning concerns. The project, located in the Baixada Santista region near the Port of Santos, has drawn controversy, while the companies and agencies involved have said little publicly about its status.

The 412,500-square-meter site, located within the official boundaries of the Port of Santos, was auctioned in July 2024. A paid-use agreement for land not directly tied to port operations was signed in January 2025.

São Paulo state environmental agency Cetesb told A Tribuna that it has no record of any request for the preliminary environmental license required for the project. The situation is unchanged from March, when the newspaper reported on the issue, and appears to date back even further.

In October 2024, Condilog Operações SPE Ltda., the company that won the auction, submitted a request for guidance on what environmental study would be needed to open the licensing process, which is expected to require an Environmental Impact Study and Report, known in Brazil as EIA-Rima. No further progress has been recorded.

Condilog again did not respond to requests for comment. The contract runs for 35 years, from Jan. 13, 2025, to Jan. 13, 2060. Under the agreement, the leaseholder is required to deliver a truck yard with 1,020 spaces within three years of signing the contract, meaning by Jan. 13, 2028. The project’s total value exceeds R$3 billion.

The Santos Port Authority said only that the company that won the bidding process “is in the process of obtaining the project’s environmental license” and that there is no timetable for the start of construction because the project is still in the licensing stage. The federal port authority said further questions should be addressed to Condilog.

Ilha do Tatu is a green area located next to the link between the Anchieta and Imigrantes highways. The project has prompted two civil investigations: one by the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor’s Office, through its special environmental unit for the Baixada Santista region, and another by the 2nd Public Prosecutor’s Office in Cubatão, to investigate possible damage to urban order and the environment.

Last year, Cubatão Mayor César Nascimento of the PSD party offered APS a 1-million-square-meter site in Sítio dos Areais, in the city’s industrial hub, along the Cônego Domênico Rangoni highway, in exchange for the Ilha do Tatu area. The alternative site would have capacity for 1,000 truck spaces. The city opposed the Ilha do Tatu project, but the talks did not move forward.

Source: A Tribuna

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