Disqualified Companies File Request to Suspend Port of Itajaí Auction

The temporary leasing process for the Port of Itajaí received three administrative appeals following the end of the due period for complaints, one of which included a request to the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) for the suspension of the auction. The first and second-place bidders in the tender contested their disqualification in the competition. Meanwhile, the fourth-place bidder requested the disqualification of Teconnave, a company within the TIL group and owner of Portonave, whose proposal was qualified last week.

The appeals phase is the final step before the result is ratified and the contract is signed, with specific dates still to be defined by the federal government. The National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) is expected to review the appeals by Friday, the 10th.

MMS Empreendimentos, the company that submitted the highest bid in the auction, a minimum monthly container handling capacity of 66,600 TEUs, disagreed with Antaq’s assessment that it failed to prove its ability to fulfill the proposal. The company argued that it had met the tender requirements but claimed that the bidding committee created new conditions for qualification, requiring commercial and financial statements that were not initially specified to disqualify the bid.

The appeal seeks the annulment of the company’s disqualification and includes a complaint to the TCU pointing out potential irregularities in the temporary hiring process. In its complaint, MMS argues that “there is irreversible damage to public administration if the TCU does not immediately suspend the process.” The argument is that the government would enter into a less advantageous contract with another competitor.

The TCU complaint was filed on Oct 20 and is still awaiting a decision. The case is under the jurisdiction of Minister Aroldo Cedraz. The contract audit directorate issued a decision on Tuesday (Sep 7), stating that Antaq should be heard, with a five-day business period for comments and document submission. The decision warns of the risk of the TCU suspending the contract if irregularities are confirmed.

Mada Araújo, the second-place bidder in the competition with a 44,000 TEUs/month bid, also filed an appeal against their disqualification in the tender. The company argued that its offer was rendered viable but argued that Antaq used subjective criteria to assess the company’s commercial relationships and economic capacity, leading to its exclusion from the competition.

The third appeal was submitted by Livramento Holding, the company that submitted the fourth-best bid, involving 21,200 TEUs per month. This competitor requests the disqualification of Teconnave, the owner of the winning proposal, on the grounds of potential harm to competition and economic concentration in the market, as the company is part of the same group as Portonave, which already operates in the Port Complex of Itajaí. A favorable decision would lead to the author of the appeal being called upon to take on the lease.

Source: Diarinho

To read the original report, click on: https://diarinho.net/materia/648414/Empresa-desclassificada-pede-suspensao-do-leilao-do-Porto-de-Itajai-

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