Port of Santos Privatization Plans generate concerns

Calls to privatize the Port of Santos by the São Paulo state governor, João Doria, and the wider Bolsonaro government, have caused concerns for port sector entities according to A Tribuna newspaper. The president of Fenop (the National Federation of Port Operators), Sérgio Aquino, believes that privatizing the port of Santos is not necessarily the best model to be adopted, calling for a broad national debate regarding the subject. Santos is currently administered by Codesp, following the Landlord model.

According to Sopesp (the Port Operators Union in São Paulo), some services should be privatized such as those which do not meet user expectations. Other aspects currently administered by Codesp such as Port Authority management should not, due to their intrinsic link to the Federal Government, for example lease inspection, strategic planning and construction works. Many local commentators are pointing out that Santos’ high cost and inefficiency are due mainly to access infrastructure problems, including maritime, road and rail, and that privatization would not solve these problems.

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