Fishing terminal in Santos to face new auction and is not on the Port’s radar; understand why

The 7,300-square-meter area of the Santos Public Fishing Terminal (TPPS), located in Ponta da Praia, could be used for expanding the Port’s operations. However, the Santos Port Authority (APS) has stated it has no interest in the site.

For the third time, the Federal Government will attempt to auction the TPPS, with the first phase of bidding scheduled for next Tuesday (24). In the two previous attempts, there were no interested parties.

“I believe it is extremely important for the Port Authority to plan for the future and safeguard the growth of its leaseholders’ future expansions. This area could be reviewed and even claimed by APS for future expansion of the export corridor terminals in terms of dock berthing capacity,” says port consultant Ivam Jardim.

It’s worth recalling that APS, formerly known as Companhia Docas do Estado de São Paulo (Codesp), managed the Laguna Fishing Terminal in Santa Catarina from the mid-1990s until 2019 when the federal government transferred it to the state government.

In a statement, the Santos dock manager made it clear that the company has no interest in the site. “The terminal lies outside the boundaries of the Organized Port, and there are no plans, at present, to take over the area’s management. A hypothetical future inclusion of the space within the port boundaries — and there are currently no plans for this — would depend on a public policy decision involving both the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MPA) and the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor),” it said.

In such a case, the note added, “It would be up to APS to assess the best use of the area, considering its characteristics and the needs of the port complex.”

MPor
Also contacted by A Tribuna about its interest in the area, MPOR stated in a note that “there is currently no similar model implemented within the Ministry.”

The Ministry further explained that if there were interest, any discussions would have to be conducted through “institutional dialogue between the public entities involved, with the participation of the Secretariat for Federal Assets (SPU), which is responsible for managing Union-owned properties.”

The location and the proposal
The TPPS is under the responsibility of the MPA. Currently, it features a fuel station providing diesel to vessels, as well as infrastructure for fish unloading, washing, and sorting, along with water and electricity supply.

“With the concession, the idea is for the private sector to invest in improving the facility and offering additional services, such as renovating the ice factory to supply ice to local fishermen,” says Clecius Nerby Alves da Rocha, General Coordinator for Infrastructure and Development at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Proposal submission on Tuesday
The first phase of the auction is scheduled for next Tuesday and involves submitting qualification documents and commercial proposals at the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3) by interested parties. Four Public Fishing Terminals (TPPs) will be included in the auction, but not as a bundle. In addition to Santos, the terminals in Cananeia (São Paulo), Natal (Rio Grande do Norte), and Aracaju (Sergipe) are also part of the process.

“This phase involves opening the envelope with the qualification documents. The other envelope, containing the commercial proposal, will be held by B3 until July 4, when the public auction session will be held, and the eligible commercial bids will be opened in real-time to rank the bidders,” explains Clecius Nerby Alves da Rocha.

The issue is that, in the two previous auctions, there were no interested parties. Rocha assures that the Ministry has made every effort to publicize and clarify the concession process to grant all four TPPs in the auction. “Roadshows were held with potential investors. Furthermore, anyone may contact the MPA to clarify any questions and participate in the bidding. I also emphasize that the terminals were qualified under the Federal Government’s Investment Partnership Program (PPI), giving it national priority status,” he argues.

What’s new
The General Coordinator highlighted that the new round of the TPP auction includes a new flexibility clause.

“It is no longer necessary to immediately deposit 100% of the required value. For this new round, only 10% of the amount must be paid upon signing, with the remaining 90% to be settled by the end of the third year of the concession,” Rocha explains.

In addition, according to Rocha, the obligation to tie the services offered to the terminal’s activity has been maintained, meaning the concessionaire may expand the business in other ways while still meeting the essential service requirements.

Previous auctions
The Santos Public Fishing Terminal (TPPS) was first auctioned in March 2022. It was offered jointly with the Cananeia TPP but attracted no interest. In June 2024, a second auction was held, in which the TPPS was offered separately from the Cananeia terminal; however, there were still no takers. If this occurs again, a new auction may be held, but the project would need to be reassessed to determine the next steps, according to Clecius Nerby Alves da Rocha.

Requirements for bidders in the auction

1 – Essential services
Unloading and pre-processing of fish, serving both artisanal and industrial fleets
Unloading and provision of infrastructure for shrimp washing, serving both artisanal and industrial fleets
Provision of basic supplies: ice, water, electricity, and fuel

2 – Additional services
Freezing and storage
Dock availability
Sales area
Parking fee collection

3 – Complementary additional services
Other processing services: filleting, deboning, and freezing

4 – Unloading
Simultaneous docking of two industrial vessels and two artisanal vessels
Unloading of 1,123 tons per month from industrial fleet and 15 tons per month from the artisanal fleet

5 – Washing, selection, packaging, and shipping
824 tons of fish per month (816 tons industrial and 8 tons artisanal)
Availability of infrastructure for shrimp
Shipping infrastructure with at least four refrigerated trucks

6 – Supply offerings
Meeting projected demand for ice, water, electricity, and fuel
7 – Implementation deadlines
Two years for implementation of the artisanal fishing unloading system
Three years for all other requirements

Criteria
Bidding will be judged by the highest offer, represented by the highest concession fee to be paid to the Federal Government by the winning bidder
Initial contract term: 20 years
Possible extension for up to 5 additional years, subject to submission of a financial rebalancing study
Contract term may be reduced or restored based on annual performance evaluations

Source: A Tribuna

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