Santos mayor brings dissatisfaction with port privatization to the courts

The mayor of Santos says that the Jair Bolsonaro administration has ignored cities in the region when it comes to the Port of Santos privatization process, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, as well as in minor terminal biddings. Thus, Rogério Santos filed a complaint to the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU – Brazil), which may result in a judicial process.

“We are talking about the largest logistics infrastructure in the country. Nearly 30% of the Brazilian trade balance passes through the Port of Santos. Some issues are being resolved exclusively in Brasília, far from the region and far from the reality of the entire logistics chain present in the Port of Santos,” says the politician.

The mayor emphasizes that he is not against privatization or terminal auctions. Still, he says that the federal government has been skipping essential steps and running the operation on the double, which can cause damage to Santos and neighboring cities. He says he sent two technical notes to the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) but did not receive a response.

As for privatization, he suggests maintaining a public pier space, currently used by small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to hold import operations, employing 65% of the city’s temporary port workers.

See below the track record of Brazilian exports of containerized cargo via the Port of Santos from January 2021 to March 2022. These data are from Datamar’s DataLiner.

Containerized Cargo at the Port of Santos | Jan 2021 – Mar 2022 | TEUS

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The mayor also argued that privatizing the port administration with no public participation whatsoever could negatively impact tourism and the economy of the Santos region.

“A corporation or consortium, possibly international, will run the port. They are concerned with stock exchange performance, shareholders, and fiscal results. However, the Port of Santos serves an important function for other policies,” according to Santos.

“The flow of tourists from cruise lines is not as profitable as other items. Will the port’s management business prioritize passengers or different sorts of cargo?”

“Containers are far more cost-effective than passengers. Passengers are not vital for the port manager’s financial results but Brazil’s tourism development. They are crucial for commerce in Baixada Santista,” he continues.

For him, the attempt at privatization has focused exclusively on economic returns and has ignored local environmental, tourist and labor issues.

Privatization is one of the flagships of Tarcísio de Freitas, former Minister of Infrastructure, in his campaign for the Government of São Paulo.

The auction of one of the terminals, STS 10, will result in a 20% increase in the flow of trucks in the city, says the mayor, who questions why road works worth BRL 200 million were not delivered by the federal government.

In the case of STS 53, the fertilizer terminal will be located close to a passenger terminal. The mayor then requests that the process of relocating the tourist terminal be completed before the auction, the grant for which is projected to be R$ 650 million.

“We are extremely interested in economic development, but also the social and environmental side. Auctions and privatization directly impact this front,” says Santos.

Folha de S. Paulo

Para ler o artigo original completo, acesse:

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/painel/2022/06/prefeito-diz-que-santos-e-ignorada-na-privatizacao-do-porto-e-aciona-tcu.shtml

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