Dredging firm moves to block Brazil’s first port channel concession in Paranaguá

DTA Engenharia has filed a petition with Antaq (the National Waterway Transport Agency) to contest the public tender for the concession of the access channel to the Port of Paranaguá (PR).

The auction, scheduled for Thursday (16) at B3, is the first of its kind in Brazil and is expected to raise R$1.23 billion in investments under a 25-year contract.

The concession is considered by the government to be a pilot project for a new dredging model in major ports. Other estuaries—such as Santos (SP) and Itajaí (SC)—are expected to follow suit.

The contract covers maintenance and deepening dredging, signaling, maritime traffic management (VTS/VTMIS systems), and rock removal.

According to DTA, the tender notice contains “technical, legal, and regulatory inconsistencies” that could undermine fairness among bidders and free competition at the Paraná port.

The company, which has a long track record in dredging activities in Brazil, points to risks of market concentration and vertical integration.

The petition warns of potential vertical integration between existing port operators—such as TCP (Paranaguá Container Terminal), controlled by the Chinese state-owned group China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPort)—and dredging companies linked to foreign state conglomerates, such as CCCC (China Communications Construction Company), parent company of CHEC Dredging/Shanghai Dredging-SDC.

“This arrangement could create an artificial advantage over domestic private competitors through cross-subsidization and sovereign financing, distorting competitive conditions given the evident conflict of interest,” DTA stated.

The company also questions the lack of an explicit ban on the participation of business groups receiving direct or indirect financial support from foreign governments —a practice known as “state aid” — which, it argues, violates the principles of equality and cost-effectiveness established under Law No. 14.133/2021.

Based on this argument, DTA is asking Antaq to revise the tender and include a ban on port operators in Paranaguá participating in consortia with dredging companies, as well as prohibiting the entry of companies controlled by foreign states or that benefit from sovereign subsidies.

DTA also requests formal proof that foreign bidders operate under free-market conditions, with prior evaluation by Brazil’s antitrust authority, Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense), of the risks of market concentration and vertical integration.

Source: CNN Brasil

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