Brazil’s Port of Santos expansion remains pending as federal approval slips to 2026

The Federal Government’s authorization for the expansion of the Port of Santos polygon (area) has gained a new expected date: January 2026. This is the fifth estimate announced in 2025, after four previous deadlines were not met.

The most recent expectation expired on December 19, announced one week earlier by the president of the Santos Port Authority (APS), Anderson Pomini. Asked about the missed deadline, APS stated that, following a conversation between Pomini and the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, the announcement was postponed, with a new optimistic expectation for January. No formal justification for the extension was provided.

A few days before the December deadline, the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) said that the proposal to expand the Port of Santos polygon was in the final stage of analysis, undergoing technical and institutional evaluation. After the deadline expired, the Ministry did not respond to further inquiries.

The president of APS believed that, in December, MPor would authorize at least part of the requested expansion, including Vila dos Criadores, in the Alemoa district of Santos, and some areas in São Vicente. The Ecopátio area, in Cubatão, was also included in the request. When asked whether this expectation would remain in January, APS did not respond.

Currently, the port complex covers 7.8 million square meters. With full authorization, the polygon could reach 20.4 million square meters, nearly tripling its size.

According to Pomini, the National Secretariat of Ports requested additional time due to the complexity of technical studies, including justifications, access conditions, whether the areas are public or private, and potential compensation requirements. He noted that some areas are already fully prepared for inclusion, but none were authorized within the expected timeframe.

Throughout 2025, three other dates were announced. In August, during a visit to the Port of Santos, Minister Silvio Costa Filho stated that a partial authorization would be issued in September, which did not occur. At the end of September and again in October, new expectations were raised, but there was no concrete progress. At the time, MPor said the decision depended on analyses by other federal bodies, such as the Secretariat of Federal Property (SPU).

Among the areas requested, the main one is Vila dos Criadores, totaling 420,000 square meters. The area, contaminated by a former landfill, is home to around 5,000 residents and has been the subject of legal disputes for more than two decades. The Municipality of São Vicente has offered a green area of 6.2 million square meters in the Continental Area, as well as Porto de Naus, a historical ruin located on an 850,000-square-meter site.

So far, the expansion of the Port of Santos polygon remains undefined and under analysis by the Federal Government.

Source: A Tribuna

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