Key equipment to remain at the Port of Itajaí during transitional lease

The Municipality of Itajaí, through its Port Superintendence, clarifies that all the equipment necessary for the smooth operation of the works at the Port of Itajaí will remain in the terminal during the period of transitional lease of berths 1 and 2, while the Ministry of Infrastructure does not complete the privatization process.

The Federal Government, through the National Secretariat of Ports and Waterway Transportation, gave the guarantee during a meeting with Mayor Volnei Morastoni and terminal superintendent Fábio da Veiga in Brasília.

On August 15th, the municipal administration was surprised by a manifestation of APM Terminals, informing that “without the due compensation, it will not authorize the use of the equipment by any other company or public entity.” This indemnification, however, is guaranteed by the Federal Government, is provided for in the public notice for privatization, and will be made by the company that won the auction.

The Ministry of Transport, in collaboration with ANTAQ, has already updated the purchase price of the equipment, which was R$ 44 million but now exceeds R$ 62 million and will be handed to APM Terminals. According to the public notice, payment is due 45 days after the new concessionaire begins providing services.

“We took great care to obtain this pledge from the Federation before launching the streamlined transitional lease selection process. The public notice became our obligation after APM officially informed us that it had no interest in continuing operations under the current contract’s terms, including economic and financial ones, during the transitional period that begins in January. “The port cannot experience any service interruption, and now we have this contribution from the Federal Government concerning the permanence of all operational equipment,” Fábio da Veiga explains.

The assurance that the equipment will remain in the Port of Itajaí during the transition phase was made on July 25th, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Infrastructure in Brasilia, when a delegation from the Municipality of Itaja, led by Mayor Volnei Morastoni and the Superintendent  Fábio da Veiga, met with Mario Povia, the Ministry of Infrastructure’s National Secretary for Ports and Waterway Transport.

Municipal Port Authority

At the end of last month, the Municipality of Itajaí and the Port Superintendence filed a letter with the Ministry of Infrastructure/National Secretariat for Ports and Waterway Transport, agreeing with the Union’s proposal to extend the management grant agreement for up to two years.

The municipal administration emphasized opposition to a resolutive clause present in the document to keep the two-year grant period inalterable, preventing the possibility of ending it earlier.

Doing so was essential to prevent socio-economic problems that may arise from logistical insecurity. Still, the Federal Government decided to maintain the clause and the municipal administration accepted the renewal of the Municipal Public Port Authority to avoid further damage to the Port of Itajaí.

Bids until Friday

With all these issues already resolved, the deadline for receiving proposals from companies interested in submitting bids to the selection process for the transitional leasing of the operational area in berths 1 and 2 remains until Friday (19), while the Ministry of Infrastructure does not finalize the privatization of the Port of Itajaí. The deadline was extended by one week because the notice had to be republished in the Official Gazette.

Sharing is caring!