Consultation with Indigenous communities for waterway concession could cost 30 million reais

Consultations with Indigenous communities required to move forward with the concession of the Tapajós River waterway could cost about 30 million reais in public funds, according to sources directly involved in the project studies.

The hearings follow International Labour Organization guidelines. Under Convention 169, free, prior and informed consultation must be carried out whenever projects affect traditional communities.

The high cost is tied to the need to hire specialized organizations to conduct the consultations, with knowledge of the language and customs of the affected Indigenous communities.

Despite the estimated cost, there is still no definition of where the funding will come from. Given ANTAQ’s 2026 budget of 60 million reais, the most likely alternative would be the use of National Treasury funds.

In that case, the amount could be incorporated into the concession and later reimbursed by the company that wins the auction. Specialists involved in the project, however, said this could also make the concession unfeasible because of the high cost with no clear prospect of return.

The consultation process was agreed during COP30 in coordination with Guilherme Boulos, minister of the Secretariat-General of the Presidency. But after DNIT, the National Department of Transport Infrastructure, attempted to carry out maintenance dredging on the river, Indigenous leaders said the commitment had not been properly fulfilled.

The move prompted an immediate reaction. At the beginning of the year, Indigenous groups began protesting and occupied a private terminal operated by Cargill. The aim of the demonstration was to revoke the decree authorizing the concession of the Tapajós waterway. In February, the federal government backed down and revoked the measure, a move that, although it did not halt the studies, was poorly received by the private sector.

Some specialists believe there was a communication failure on the part of the Ministry of Ports and Airports, both in its dialogue with affected communities and in its political coordination within the government itself. The lack of clear information on the project’s benefits and impacts contributed to rising local resistance.

Despite the obstacles, the government still expects to keep the concession schedule on track. There is also an effort to rebuild institutional support, involving the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and the Secretariat-General of the Presidency, in order to enable publication of a new concession decree under the Investment Partnerships Program before the tender documents are released.

Source: CNN

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