Chinese Companies Eye Participation in Santos-Guarujá Tunnel Auction on São Paulo Coast

Brazil’s Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, said on Tuesday (13) that Chinese infrastructure companies are interested in participating in the auction for the Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel, scheduled for August this year. He is accompanying President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on an official visit to China.

After a series of meetings with Chinese companies, the minister received indications that firms in the country are considering forming consortia to compete in the tunnel construction auction, which is expected to attract BRL 6 billion in investments.

“Large construction companies here in China want to participate in the auction. Over the next 30 days, a group of companies will travel to Brazil to begin effectively forming consortia,” stated the minister.

“This is a positive sign—a clear signal,” Costa Filho added, noting that beyond the Chinese market, the Brazilian government has already held a roadshow in Europe and will host another round next month in São Paulo to present the project to both Brazilian and international investors.

The Santos-Guarujá tunnel will be the first immersed tunnel in Latin America. It will be 1.5 km long—870 meters of which will be under the sea—and 21 meters deep.

Costa Filho also announced that a series of initiatives with the port logistics sector were signed during the trip. “We expect BRL 5 billion in investments in Brazil’s public ports,” he said.

He also highlighted signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) to cooperate in research and development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

“We will seek convergence in technology to improve governance at Brazilian airports. These milestones will support logistics integration between our ports and airports.”

Source: A Tribuna

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