Two parties in dispute over unoccupied area at Port of Santos

Two private groups – Triunfo Participações and Evolve Empreendimentos – are contesting Bagres Island, an unoccupied area in the Port of Santos located on the left bank of the port, with an interest in building new terminals at the site. The Santos Port Authority (SPA), responsible for managing the port, also wants to include the region in its area of ​​influence.

The two companies have already filed requests to keep the area. However, both requests are pending the port’s privatization studies which are still in the initial phase. Still, in recent weeks, companies have been trading accusations behind the scenes.

The idea of ​​building a terminal on site is not a new one: this same site was once the center of a corruption scandal in 2012 involving ex-senator Gilberto Miranda, who held the right to exploit the property. At the time, there was an accusation of influence peddling to obtain favorable opinions for the port enterprise. Due to the investigations, Miranda ended up losing the right to develop the land, which then became available once again. Thereafter, the groups began to plead with the government for the space to construct private-use terminals.

The first registered project, in December 2019, is that of Evolve Empreendimentos, an unknown company in the sector whose partner is Emerson Conrado. The group’s project would be to build a port complex with four terminals – containers, fertilizers, grains, and fuels – as well as new road and rail access. The works required investments of at least R$ 5 billion.

The company’s plan is to first obtain the adhesion contract with ANTAQ (the national waterway transport agency), which gives the right to explore the area. Then, they would seek investors in the market. People close to Evolve say there would already be conversations triggered by foreign funds. The group even got so far as to obtaining environmental and administrative licenses, but progress was stopped at the Ministry of Infrastructure due to plans to privatize the Port of Santos. They were told it would be necessary to wait for the privatization to be modeled to receive a response to their request.

In parallel, in September of this year, Triunfo also filed an order to use the area. The group’s idea is to build a container terminal on the ground, which is next to two other areas that are already owned by the company. With the three areas, Triunfo’s plan would be to set up a port complex formed by the terminal in Bagres, the Terminal Brites (a project that has been fought for years due to a public civil action), and the Terminal Portuário Logístico (TPL).

In October, Triunfo received the same answer given to Evolve – that the process would be suspended pending privatization studies of the port.

Still, the emergence of the new proposal sparked a warning at Evolve, which has been making accusations that the other company is benefiting.

The company complains that it filed its project months in advance of Triunfo’s project and that it was only unable to proceed due to the lack of an endorsement from the Ministry of Infrastructure. Now, the advantage will be zeroed out, and the two proposals will compete. This is because when there is more than one request for the implementation of private terminals for the same area, it is up to ANTAQ to select. The criteria adopted may include the highest handling capacity, the lowest price, among other factors defined by the agency.

With the prospect of competition, Evolve is already preparing to legalize the claim if the Triunfo project is approved, according to a source.

On the other hand, people close to Triunfo refute the accusations of favoritism and point out that Evolve would be a kind of facade for another group whose intention is to stop the new container terminal from proceeding. Evolve denies that it represents any company or hidden investor.

The Ministry of Infrastructure states that the Evolve and Triunfo processes are in the same situation: both suspended until there is an analysis as to any consequences on the privatization of the port and that there is no distinction between the two proposals.

In fact, the government itself is now a candidate to develop Bagres Island. There are plans for the area to be delivered to SPA and for the port authority to develop its own project for new terminals at the site, says a government source. This move could be made in the context of the privatization of the company docks. The proposal, however, is not yet mature. This is also because the privatization modeling studies themselves, conducted by a team hired by BNDES, are at a very early stage.

In addition, in order to carry out the incorporation of the island, it would be necessary to change the port’s polygonal (a layout that defines which areas are under the influence of the docks company). Today, the land is outside that area and, therefore, available to possible private terminals. In addition to Bagres Island, Largo do Caneu may also be the target of the expansion of the organized port, according to the source.

Finally, at SPA there is also no clarity as to what type of cargo could be transported in the area. One possibility would be to make it a container terminal, a cargo considered appropriate to the island’s geography. However, it is very difficult to draw demand projections for the long term today because of the pandemic. There is still a myriad of possibilities for the area, which would still be the target of studies by the team.

In relation to these plans, the ministry and SPA stated that the port authority has “actively participated in the technical discussions and will manifest itself in due time in relation to an eventual expansion of the areas of the Port of Santos considering the current privatization public policy”.

Source: Valor Econômico

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