Auction for Santos megaterminal draws interest from 10 companies, ministry says

At least ten companies have shown interest in the auction for the Tecon Santos 10 container terminal at the Saboó quay (STS10) in Santos Port. The figure was provided by Bruno Neri da Silva, director of the Department of New Grants and Port Regulatory Policies at the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor), during a public hearing of the Economic Development Commission of the Chamber of Deputies in Brasília on Wednesday (August 13). The hearing addressed the competitive restrictions imposed by the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) on the auction.

“From MPor’s side, we have received numerous companies—at least ten interested—even with the restrictions. It will be a competitive process. These are companies with investment capacity, so we have no concerns in this regard. The decision we need to make is whether to hold the auction with or without restrictions to increase Santos Port’s capacity,” Neri said, commenting on the potential decrease in competitiveness due to the absence of major players.

The auction is planned in two phases. In the first, operators that already have container terminals in Santos—including major companies such as DP World, CMA CGM (Santos Brasil), MSC, and Maersk (the latter two share participation in the BTP terminal)—are barred from participating. A second phase, open to all, will only occur if no bidders emerge in the first.

“The Agency made a technical decision that we consider legitimate and within its competencies. This is neither the first nor the last auction with participation restrictions. Several others have had them,” Neri noted, citing the ITG02 auction in Itaguaí (RJ), whose concession contract was signed in February. In that case, the restrictive clause was removed following a ruling by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU).

The Tecon Santos 10 project is currently under review by the TCU. On July 29, a three-hour panel was held in Brasília with representatives from the public and private sectors, who debated whether the auction should include restrictions or allow broad competition—the latter view being the majority.

“If the TCU decides that restrictions are not appropriate, we will comply accordingly,” the director assured. “The process is likely to go to plenary review by the end of August, raising expectations that the auction will take place in December,” he added.

Antaq’s Special Secretary for Bidding and Concessions, Ygor Di Paula, argued that new entrants would strengthen competition. “It is more important to ensure competition and efficiency over the 25-year execution of the contract than to focus on the auction in the very short term. The entry of new players increases market pressure, improves efficiency, and lowers costs for users. Additionally, it ensures the participation of current operators. Antaq is not for or against any specific agent, but in favor of competition, users, the port sector, and Brazil,” he said.

Judicial disputes and competitiveness

During the public hearing convened by Congressman Julio Lopes (PP-RJ), most participants opposed the restrictions, including the legislator himself.

Eduardo Heron, technical director of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), highlighted the sectoral losses despite record volumes. “It is a chaotic scenario. We cannot believe institutions would create a theory leading to judicialization without clear facts. It makes no sense to exclude those already investing in Brazil,” he said. Maersk filed a lawsuit against Antaq, seeking to suspend the bidding process and request a new public hearing to clarify the auction rules; however, the request was unsuccessful.

Patricio Junior, Investment Director for Terminals at Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), which is part of the MSC Group, used a football analogy to comment on Neri’s remarks about competitiveness. “Imagine the Brazilian Championship without Botafogo, Flamengo, and Palmeiras. There will be competition, but quantity is not everything—quality matters.”

Source: A Tribuna

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