Santos Port mega-terminal could get revised auction model in October

A technical working group (GTT) created by Brazil’s federal government in July to assess changes to the auction model for the Tecon Santos 10 container terminal, at the Saboó quay (STS10) in the Port of Santos, is expected to present its conclusions in October. The forecast comes from National Ports Secretary Alex Sandro de Ávila. According to him, the group’s analysis was expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Once the report is received, Ávila said, the National Ports Secretariat will review it and forward the process to Brazil’s National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ), also in October. The secretary, however, did not set a date for the auction of the site, a process that has dragged on for years.

“We hardly even need to talk about the importance of Tecon Santos 10. Anyone who follows the sector knows it inside and out. The working group has been active for about two months, and the teams have held four or six meetings, in addition to the meetings I have with my own team. It is an issue that has been extensively debated,” the secretary told A Tribuna during the second Porto & Mar Meeting, held by Grupo Tribuna last week at Píer Mauá in Rio de Janeiro.

The creation of the GTT marked another chapter in the disagreement over who should be allowed to bid for the mega-terminal. In December 2025, Brazil’s Federal Audit Court (TCU) approved a two-stage auction. Under the model, companies that already control container terminals in Santos and shipping lines — shipowners — would be barred from participating in the first phase and could only enter a second round if no valid bid were submitted initially. ANTAQ had previously reviewed the process and recommended restrictions on companies already operating at the port.

However, even after the ANTAQ and TCU decisions, the federal government did not finalize the auction notice. The discussion was reopened amid differing positions within the executive branch. The Chief of Staff’s Office began advocating a tender open to all interested parties, while the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) had supported the model with restrictions. In April, the process was suspended for further discussions, and the GTT was created in July.

In addition to the internal disagreement, the government is facing pressure from major European and Chinese shipping companies that want to participate in the auction but would be barred under the current model.

Expanding the Port of Santos is becoming increasingly important at a time when container logistics are under growing pressure. Rising throughput requires not only greater terminal capacity, but also more space for storage and operational support, as well as better management of the inland cargo flows entering and leaving the port complex. Bringing new areas into the port’s boundaries could therefore help ease bottlenecks and provide room to accommodate further growth in demand. Throughput data compiled by Datamar help illustrate the scale of that challenge.

According to the company, deep-sea container movements at the Port of Santos totaled 793,347 TEUs in exports and 934,259 TEUs in imports during the first seven months of the year. The chart below provides a comparison:

Exports & Imports | Port of Santos | Jan 2023 – Jul 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

We Have Already Decided

ANTAQ Director Alber Vasconcelos said it would be difficult for the agency to change the position it has already taken on the competition model for Tecon Santos 10 when the process returns for another review. According to him, ANTAQ has already established its position, and any change in its interpretation would also need to take into account the impact on legal certainty for the sector.

“The main point is this: the agency has already ruled on this matter. If the agency keeps going back and forth on its decisions, it creates legal uncertainty for the market. We were very firm on the competition issue. We want to open up the market; that was the agency’s proposal,” he said.

Vasconcelos, however, said he would wait to see what is submitted. “The Ministry [of Ports and Airports] will obviously present its information, and we will deliberate on it. We will wait for the process to reach us,” he explained.

Asked directly whether ANTAQ could reconsider its position, Vasconcelos acknowledged that decisions can be changed but expressed resistance to doing so unless the circumstances underpinning the original decision have changed.

“It is possible to change it, but I think it is difficult. I’m speaking as an agency director. Changing an agency’s decisions weakens the very sector it regulates.” In his view, the factors that led ANTAQ to its previous conclusion remain in place.

Tecon Santos 10 is planned to occupy 621,900 square meters at the Saboó quay (STS10) and is expected to have capacity for 3.25 million TEUs per year, in addition to general cargo.

Estimated investment exceeds R$6 billion. The project is considered essential to expanding the Port of Santos’ container-handling capacity.

Source: A Tribuna

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