Ports and Airports Ministry confirms Paraná channel auction for October 22

The Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) has confirmed the auction for the concession of the access channel to the ports of Paraná for the 22nd of this month, at the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3). At least seven companies have expressed interest in participating.

This is the first initiative of its kind in Brazil and will serve as a model for the upcoming auction of the Port of Santos, which is expected to be the next on the list. The forecast is that it will take place in the first half of next year, starting in February.

The investment amounts involved in the two access channel concessions, however, differ greatly. In Paraná, the total will be R$1.2 billion, while in Santos — the largest port complex in the Southern Hemisphere — the figure is around R$6.45 billion. Both contracts will last 25 years and can be extended for up to 70 years.

Dredging is another key point. In the Paranaguá access channel, among the planned improvements is an increase in depth, starting in the fifth year of the concession, to 15.5 meters. The current waterway depth is 13.3 meters. In Santos, the goal is to gradually deepen it to 17 meters and maintain that depth, enabling the port to accommodate larger vessels and maximize cargo capacity.

DTA Engenharia, a Brazilian company in the sector, filed a formal challenge to the bidding notice. The request was submitted last Friday, the final day for such filings, according to the schedule released by the National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq). The company is responsible for the design and deep-dredging works at the Port of Paranaguá.

According to the company’s legal manager, Renan Beloto, the analysis showed that the bidding notice failed to account for the Brazilian dredging market and did not assess risks to national sovereignty, security, and development. Globally, the dredging sector is dominated by only five large groups, supported by government financing and subsidies from their home countries.

The current framework, according to DTA’s legal manager, could transfer control of strategic and essential waterway infrastructure to foreign state-owned groups from countries such as China, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

DTA’s filing also highlights the lack of analysis of competitive conflicts arising from vertical integration between port operators and dredging companies within the same economic group. Such verticalization could lead to restricted access for competing terminals to essential infrastructure, prioritization of vessels linked to their own operations, and distortion of intraport competition.

The bidding notice for the access channel stipulates that, for technical qualification purposes, bidders must be dredging companies. If part of a consortium, they must hold at least a 15% stake.

Antaq stated in a note that its technical department will analyze and decide on all submitted challenges, publishing the corresponding information on the Agency’s website within the deadlines and conditions set in the notice.

Meanwhile, Portos do Paraná said that the auction is the responsibility of Antaq and, for that reason, it has not received any official communication regarding the challenge.

In addition to deepening the channel, the plan includes widening and expanding the Paranaguá access channel, enlarging the turning basin, and deepening the anchorage area, among other improvements. The future concessionaire will also undertake investments in dredging, rock removal, nautical signaling, bathymetry, and environmental programs and monitoring.

The investment in the Paraná access channel will amount to R$1.2 billion over the 25-year contract, which can be extended up to 70 years. For comparison, the upcoming auction of the Santos port complex channel — the largest in Brazil and the Southern Hemisphere — involves investments of R$6.45 billion over the same period.

The same auction will also include the RDJ07 terminal at the Port of Rio de Janeiro, intended for offshore support cargo operations, with investments of R$99.4 million over 25 years. Another facility included is the Passenger Maritime Terminal (TMP) at the Port of Maceió, in Alagoas, which will receive R$3.7 million in investments under a concession of the same duration. The site will feature a passenger station and parking area.

Source: A Tribuna

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