SPA’s ‘superterminal’ public auction will change the face of the port and intensify container dispute

A few months before being privatized, the Santos Port Authority (SPA) is expected to hold the largest port lease auction in its history, with an estimated grant potential of around R$ 1 billion. More than for generating cash, the new container terminal is seen as a bet to reconfigure the port and foster competition in its operations.

Around R$2.2 billion will be invested in the terminal, named STS 10 in the expansion plans. It is located at Cais do Saboó and will incorporate the space currently occupied by Ecoporto Santos, from Ecorodovias, as well as other contiguous areas in a region known in Santos as the “Gaza Strip” – nicknamed as such because several small terminals occupy spaces in dispute with the port authority.

STS 10 will have a capacity similar to the terminals of Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP) and Santos Brasil, which are currently competing with each other for leadership in container handling in Santos. In the market, the new area is seen as a unique form of synergizing with BTP, which operates right next door.

Valor found out that three other heavyweights in the sector are showing a strong interest in the auction. One of them is China Merchants, which purchased 90% of the Paranaguá Container Terminal (TCP) in 2017. Another is the Philippine group ICTSI, which already operates in the ports of Rio de Janeiro and Suape (PE). Also eyeing the new area, according to sources, is the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA).

An eventual victory by BTP or Santos Brasil in the auction would guarantee one of these port operators a predominant position in containerized cargo in Santos. However, there is a possibility that the two shareholders of BTP/APM Terminals – a subsidiary of the Danish Maersk and the Swiss Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) – may be competing individually.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original article, visit the link:

https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2021/10/21/leilao-de-superterminal-mudara-cara-do-porto-e-acirrara-briga-por-conteiner.ghtml

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