The privatization of the Port of Santos advances at Antaq

The Brazilian National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) approved the public consultation on the technical and legal studies that are required for the privatization of the Port of Santos, which is Latin America’s largest, as of yesterday, January 20th, 2022. The agency is accepting contributions between January 31 and March 16, as well as putting together a public hearing with no set date yet.

The draft notice and proposed contract will be submitted to the Federal Court of Auditors to undergo revision after the public consultation. The government plans to privatize the port’s administration still in this year. The concession contract will have a 35-year term, with a five-year renewal option.

The company that is awarded the contract will be required to make R$ 1.4 billion in mandatory investments. In addition, it will need to set aside approximately R$3 billion to finance the construction of the Santos-Guarujá underwater tunnel.

The project is being designed to allow the transit of pedestrians, cars and bicycles below the access channel for vessels to the Port of Santos. The funds will be transferred in three annual installments, 25% immediately after contracting, 35% in the second year and 40% in the third.

Eduardo Nery Machado Filho, Antaq’s general director, explained that the tunnel will be built independently of the port’s new administration, which will require a new bidding process to select new investors.

The qualification of the tunnel studies was published in the Brazilian Federal Gazette yesterday by the board of the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI). The government intends to finish the studies in the first quarter and hold an auction in the fourth quarter to choose who will build and operate the project.

The tunnel project competes with another proposal by the state of São Paulo, which proposes to build bridge over the navigation channel to connect the insular and continental parts of Santos.

Machado Filho stated that the process of privatizing the port of Santos entails more than just saving resources that will be redirected to the tunnel. “It’s like killing two birds with one stone. The sale of a state-owned company, and a port administration public service concession”, he said.

Machado Filho also explained that the works to increase the access channel depth will cost RS$700 million. In order to welcome larger vessels, the port will have its draft increased from 15 meters to 17 meters until 2033.

Other RS$ 200 million will be redirected to modernizing works of the port’s structure or to improve city-port relations.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original article please visit the link:

https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2022/01/21/privatizacao-do-porto-de-santos-avanca-na-antaq.ghtml

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