The Brazilian National Waterway Transport Agency (ANTAQ) has approved the public concession process for the Port of Santos, on the coast of São Paulo.
The approval came on 12 September.
The Ministry of Infrastructure (Minfra) will now receive the documentation authorised by ANTAQ which, in turn, will forward it to the Federal Audit Court (TCU) for due analysis.
The term of the concession contract was stipulated at 35 years, with the possibility of being extended for another five – for the purpose of economic and financial balance.
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The project is being structured to provide BRL 6.3 billion ($1.2 billion) in new investments, of which BRL 2.1 billion ($ 406 million) will be allocated to port infrastructure and BRL 4.2 billion ($ 813 million) to the construction of a submerged tunnel that will connect the cities of Santos and Guarujá.
In June, the Port of Santos announced its best yearly start ever for its container sector.
Container handling in both flows exceeded 2 million TEU, 0.4 per cent above the figure for the first five months of 2021 – the best mark in the port’s history for January to May 2022.