Federal government requests suspension of bidding process for mega terminal at Port of Santos

Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports has asked the National Waterway Transportation Agency, or Antaq, to suspend the bidding process for Tecon Santos 10 (STS10), the new container terminal planned for the Port of Santos on the coast of São Paulo state.

According to the ministry, the move is a standard administrative step aimed at reviewing and refining the project model amid a series of technical, legal and competition-related adjustments under discussion with the presidential chief of staff’s office.

The decision reopens a strategic phase of the process. The project, regarded as one of the largest port investments in the country, will now undergo a reassessment of assumptions and parameters to ensure what the ministry described as the “best public interest.”

The review comes after repeated delays to the timetable and amid disagreement over the auction model, especially the rules governing participation by large operators already established in the Santos port complex.

“It is important to note that the STS 10 auction follows the ordinary procedure applicable to port leases, involving technical and legal stages conducted by the National Ports Secretariat of the Ministry of Ports and Airports, the National Waterway Transportation Agency and the Federal Court of Accounts,” the ministry said in a statement.

Seen as the most anticipated project in Brazil’s port sector, the terminal is expected to increase container handling capacity at the port by about 50%. With estimated investment of 6.45 billion reais and an initial 25-year contract, renewable for up to 70 years, Tecon Santos 10 will occupy a strategic 621,900-square-meter area on the Saboó quay in Santos.

Shifting dates

At the beginning of 2025, the minister had indicated December 2025 as a possible date for the auction, with contract signing in the first half of 2026. The timetable was later updated to April 2026. With fresh disputes emerging, the deadline was postponed again.

In February, during CEO Conference Brasil 2026, Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho said the expectation was to publish the tender notice in March and hold the auction in May.

Later that same month, the ministry said the official plan was to carry out the auction in 2026, but that the date would still be set after discussions and review by Antaq.

Disputes over the mega terminal

One of the main sticking points concerns the design of the auction itself. Antaq sent the Federal Court of Accounts a recommendation for a two-phase auction, under which companies already operating container terminals at the Port of Santos would be barred from the first phase. The stated justification was to reduce the risk of market concentration.

Most of the court’s justices followed the opinion of the reviewing justice, Bruno Dantas. According to him, the restriction is necessary because “shipping lines that own terminals do not profit only from tariffs, but also from excluding other shipping lines that could operate maritime services to that port.” The decision therefore effectively sidelines some of the sector’s biggest players.

In addition, the ruling included a requirement for the mandatory construction of an internal rail yard with a pre-defined minimum evacuation capacity, as well as a recommendation to consider raising the minimum concession fee, currently set at zero.

Dantas’s position aligns with Antaq’s proposal for a two-stage auction. In the first stage, operators that already control container terminals at the Port of Santos would be barred from participating.

If there is no interest, the second stage would be opened to broad participation, including the current incumbents. If one of them wins, it would be required to divest its current assets before signing the new contract.

According to Antaq, that strategy would reduce the risk of greater economic and operational concentration under the control of operators already established in the port complex.

The Federal Court of Accounts decided to recommend a two-phase auction, with the first phase also closed to shipping lines. In a statement, Antaq said it received the court’s decision “calmly” and that the ruling reflects the agency’s interest in preserving competition.

The ministry said it had accepted the court’s recommendations and instructed Antaq to publish the tender notice with the restrictions defined by the ruling.

Project

The mega terminal is planned for the Saboó quay, on the right bank of the Port of Santos, in an area of 621,975 square meters. It is expected to have static capacity of 3.5 million TEUs, more than half of the total handled last year at the Santos waterfront. Estimated investment stands at 6.45 billion reais over 25 years.

The chart below shows monthly container export and import volumes through Santos, according to data from the DataLiner platform:

Container Exports and Imports | Port of Santos | Jan 2023 – Feb 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

According to the Santos city government, once the terminal begins operating, Brazil is expected to jump from 46th to 15th place worldwide in container handling capacity.

Source: G1

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