BCP Engenharia ends partnership with Mada Araújo for Itajaí Port operations

Mada Araújo’s partner in the operations for the temporary lease of the Port of Itajaí, BCP Engenharia, has informed the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) that it is withdrawing from the project. The statement sent on Tuesday (11/28) cited various inconsistencies in the information provided by Mada Araújo, resulting in a “breach of trust.”

BCP, a Fortaleza-based company specializing in infrastructure projects such as solar plants, wind parks, paving, subdivisions, and condominiums, was introduced by Mada Araújo as one of the partners in the project to take over the Port of Itajaí. Transbrasa, a maritime logistics company operating in the Port of Santos, was also announced in the proposal.

In October, BCP informed Antaq of its intention to implement works and improvements in the hinterland area of the Port of Itajaí. It also attested to its ability to contribute to better physical and administrative conditions to achieve the minimum movement requirement of 44,000 TEUs proposed by Mada Araújo.

About the end of the partnership, BCP pointed out the lack of expertise of Mada Araújo in port operations and the absence of operational capacity to hold the intended temporary lease. In the port project, BCP stated that it would be responsible for a significant part of port operations but would not have decision-making capacity.

The company emphasized that it remains interested in operating at the Port of Itajaí and contributing to the resumption of operations but concluded that it is no longer willing to work with Mada Araújo on the exploration of the temporary lease, retracting the declaration submitted in the Antaq bidding process.

Antaq’s press office stated that the selection process for the temporary lease auction for the port had been completed within the agency. Antaq also highlighted that it plans to start, still this year, the preliminary stages of the bidding process for the terminal’s concession for the next 30 years.

Contract signing awaits the conclusion of the process

Antaq concluded the selection process for the Port of Itajaí last week, with Mada Araújo’s homologation as the bidding winner after reviewing an appeal.

The process was forwarded to the Ministry of Ports, which only awaits the company to sign the contract, which is expected to occur by the first week of December.

Simultaneously, a complaint has been filed in the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) requesting the suspension of the auction. MMS Empreendimentos, the company that submitted the best offer in the bidding process but was disqualified and failed to reverse the decision in the appeal phase, filed the representation. The TCU process awaits a decision from the case’s rapporteur, Minister Aroldo Cedraz. Antaq has already provided the court with clarifications.

Mada Araújo says BCP’s decision does not affect the project

Marco Antônio de Araújo, CEO of Mada Araújo, stated that BCP’s decision does not compromise the project’s continuity, considering the company has six other partners. He mentioned that BCP would handle the internal infrastructure of the terminal.

“For us, it’s a simple matter of substitution. It’s just one more stage that doesn’t compromise our project at all. We have more companies that will join us on this matter,” he said. The director explained that he still intends to announce all the partners, but at the moment, the business conditions, whether for service contracts or strategic partnerships, are protected by confidentiality.

“In this way, I won’t delve into issues related to our commercial partnerships. I will only clarify that Mada Araújo today will fulfill its commitments independently, through its resources, or in conjunction with our strategic partners. BCP was just one of them. It simply made the decision. This means nothing to us in terms of continuity,” he stated.

Source: Diarinho

Click here to view the original text in Portuguese: https://diarinho.net/materia/649000/BCP-Engenharia-desiste-de-parceria-com-a-Mada-Araujo-pra-tocar-o-Porto-de-Itajai–

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