Presidential decree includes Port of Santos in the National Privatization Program

The Brazilian Federal Gazette presented, on Thursday, July 28, a presidential decree that qualifies the Santos Port Authority as part of the Investment Partnerships Program of the Presidency of the Republic (PPI), including it in the National Privatization Program. The act, signed by President Jair Bolsonaro, complies with the guidelines of the PPI Council.

Although on a tight schedule, the government expects the Port of Santos to be privatized later this year, which is met with skepticism in the market. Rafael Furtado, Secretary of Development, Planning, and Partnerships of the Ministry of Infrastructure told Broadcast, Grupo Estado’s real-time news system, that he believes the proposal for Santos – whose sale could bring R$ 18 billion in investments – will be presented to the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU – Brazil) in the middle of August.

After that, the expectation is to publish the public notice in October, which would depend on TCU issuing a decision in less than three months – a period considered narrow by the market given the time the Court has taken in other similar cases.

The decree published on Thursday confirmed that the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) will be responsible for executing and monitoring the privatization process, in addition to establishing that the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) will monitor the technical studies contracted by BNDES. Besides, the Ministry of Infrastructure was granted the “competence to validate the partial and final findings of the studies carried out by BNDES.”

In a text distributed to the press, the General Secretariat of the Presidency states that “privatization is expected to promote the expansion, modernization, and optimization of the infrastructure and superstructure that comprise the Port and its facilities. It shall also guarantee the reasonableness of the tariffs and prices practiced in the sector, the quality of the activity provided, and the effectiveness of users’ rights, in addition to stimulating the modernization and improvement of port activities.”

Tunnel

The text does not mention deadlines but informs that “there is still a forecast that privatization will enable investments of almost three billion reais for the execution of a tunnel connecting the cities of Santos-SP and Guarujá-SP.”

Source: Gaúcha ZH

To read the full original article, please go to: https://gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br/economia/noticia/2022/07/decreto-inclui-porto-de-santos-no-programa-nacional-de-desestatizacao-cl6553e8s000501etrs9u3u9i.html

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