Santos mayor questions port privatization, terminal auctions in letter to the courts

The Municipality of Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, sent an official letter to the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) questioning the terms of privatization of the Port of Santos, the largest in the country, and the auctions of port terminals, which are in progress.

The document, signed by Mayor Rogério Santos, was sent to the president of the TCU, Minister Ana Arraes, requesting the Federal Government to pay closer attention to the reality and needs of the city of Santos and neighboring regions.

The mayor declares that he supports the privatization process but requests additional time for research and consideration of local effects. According to the city hall, the intention of the letter is to alert the TCU about the concerns of the municipal administration, such as the maintenance of space for the operation of the city’s public pier, jobs, population interests, and social and environmental repercussions in the municipality.

According to the city hall, the federal authorities are not adequately considering the Port-City relationship. In addition, as the document indicates, the municipal administration did not receive any feedback on its notes regarding the impacts on companies, jobs, and the population’s quality of life.

See below the top 10 most exported cargoes at the Port of Santos in 2022. The data is from DataLiner.

Most exported cargoes via the Port of Santos | 2022 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Employment concerns 

To protect jobs and local businesses that the privatization process would jeopardize, the city government defends the maintenance of a public pier and the provision of enough berths for cargo operations, thereby preventing the loss of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

Environmental concerns and tourism  

The auction of one section of the port for allocating a large fertilizer terminal close to the passenger terminal (Concais) is a concern from an environmental point of view.

According to the city hall, the storage and transportation of chemical components, such as ammonium nitrate, makes it impossible for the Concais to remain in its current location. Therefore, the city government asks that the fertilizer terminal only comes into operation after the transfer of Concais to the Valongo region.

Freight logistics 

The text also mentions the necessity for investment in transportation infrastructure. For example, the Federal Government has recently mandated the completion of the new road access to the right bank of the Port of Santos as an investment commitment for the future Internal Railway of the Port of Santos (Fips).

The city hall stressed that the operation of a new large terminal, as planned by the Federal Government, would increase the flow of trucks by 20%.

Negotiations

On June 24, the director-general of the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq), Eduardo Nery, was in Santos, an opportunity in which the mayor expressed his concerns regarding the process. According to the city hall, at the time, Eduardo promised more meetings to listen to the needs and concerns of the municipality.

In the document delivered to TCU and meeting with Antaq, the city government stated that both parties emphasized the importance of the Port of Santos to the national economy. However, the municipal administration reinforces in the letter that one cannot forget that the port directly impacts the local economy and the quality of life of the entire Baixada Santista region.

Source: G1

To read the full original article, please go to: https://g1.globo.com/sp/santos-regiao/porto-mar/noticia/2022/07/02/prefeitura-de-santos-envia-oficio-ao-tribunal-de-contas-questionando-os-termos-da-desestatizacao-do-porto-e-dos-leiloes-de-terminais-portuarios.ghtml

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