Brazil’s Federal Audit Court grants extension to inland container terminal in Santos

The Federal Audit Court (TCU) voted – by five votes to three – to partially extend the contract of the company Marimex, which stores containers in the Port of Santos (SP). The extension is valid until 2025 or until they contract the new railway operator.

The Ministry of Infrastructure was not interested in the extension because it wants to build a new fertilizer terminal and a railway pear (yard for the outflow of cargo) in the area occupied by Marimex. Therefore, they wanted to have a new bid for the area.

When questioned, the Santos Port Authority (port administrator) and the Ministry of Infrastructure reported that “they are waiting for the Federal Audit Court’s decision to be published so they can define the next steps concerning the railway expansion plan in the Port of Santos.”

The rapporteur for the case, Vital do Rêgo, was in favor of the partial extension of the contract because he understood that the immediate eviction would leave the area idle, causing financial losses for the port and the dismissal of a thousand people currently working at the company.

Minister Aroldo Cedraz asked for more time to analyze the case. The process then returned to the TCU plenary agenda for Wednesday.

Vital do Rêgo maintained his position, as the administrator of the Port of Santos has not informed who will build the railway pear or presented a timetable for the works.

“There are four risks for vacating the immediate area. It has not yet been decided who will start the works on the railway pears or when the work will begin”, argued the rapporteur. “With the extension, we will save the government money because the idle area means the loss of more than a thousand jobs if the company is closed abruptly”, he added.

Marimex occupies ​​around 100,000 square meters in the Port of Santos – the largest in Latin America – for container storage. The lease expired in May 2020, but the company obtained a preliminary injunction to continue operating.

Source: O Globo

Sharing is caring!