Bridging gaps: Brazil eyes bold port, airport and waterway projects

Brazil unveiled details this week of an ambitious investment plan targeting ports, airports and waterways. However, significant challenges remain for this agenda to advance successfully.

"Brazil still faces a major logistical bottleneck, especially in ports, where there are long queues of ships caused by robust import and export activity. Technically, we have suppressed demand that needs to be addressed with increased investments and new projects," Alberto Sogayar, an infrastructure lawyer at law firm Sogayar e Alcântara Advogados, told BNamericas.

"However, despite the demand for new projects, the current environment for financing long-term investments is quite challenging due to high interest rates. I doubt whether all the projected investments, particularly those from the private sector, will actually materialize," Sogayar added.

BNamericas takes a look at the plans announced by the ports and airports ministry, including projections for public and private investments this year and planned concession contracts in the port, airport and waterway sectors.

Ports

Total investments in the ports sector are expected to reach 19.7bn reais (US$3.25bn) in 2025, up from 11.6bn reais in 2024, with private sector players leading the way.

Public investments are forecast to increase to 1.7bn reais this year, compared with 1.04bn reais in 2024, while private sector investments are projected to rise to 18bn reais, from 10.6bn reais.

To facilitate future investments, the government plans to offer up to 20 leasing contracts for port terminals and one concession for the access channel at Paranaguá port in Paraná state. Combined, these contracts are expected to generate 9.5bn reais in future investments.

Of these, the leasing of the STS10 container terminal at Santos port in São Paulo state is valued at 4.5bn reais, while the concession for the Paranaguá port channel is projected to generate 1.07bn reais.

For 2026, the government anticipates offering an additional 21 contracts for terminal leases and concessions that are expected to generate 5.91bn reais in investments.

Santos-Guarujá underwater road tunnel

This year, the government plans to offer a public-private partnership for construction of the Santos-Guarujá tunnel, Latin America's first underwater road tunnel.

The project involves a 1.5km structure, 870m of which will be submerged. With a total investment of 6bn reais, the tunnel is intended to facilitate movement of trucks between the cities of Santos and Guarujá, which are separated by the Santos estuary, enhancing operations at Santos port.

Airports

Investments in the airport sector are projected to total 3bn reais this year, with 1.9bn reais coming from the private investor and the remainder from the public sector.

This represents a decline compared to 2024, when investments reached 3.4bn reais, of which 2.7bn reais were from private companies.

The government’s main initiative for 2025 is the AmpliAR program, which aims to improve regional airports through concessions. Plans include offering concessions for 50 medium-sized airports in the north and northeast, with estimated investments of 3.4bn reais.

Waterways

The government is seeking to stimulate private sector investment in waterways.

Investment in the sector is expected to reach 946mn reais in 2025, up from 388mn reais in 2024.

Currently, all investments in waterways are public, but the government is working to unlock concession opportunities, including for the Paraguay river in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states.

"The preparation of waterway concession contracts is complex. For a contract to be viable, the waterway must have freight transport demand, as this allows the implementation of a tariff model to reimburse private investors. A waterway designed solely for passenger transport with low freight demand is unfeasible," Sogayar said.

The government is currently structuring six concession contracts: the Paraguay river waterway, the Brazil-Uruguay waterway, the Barra Norte waterway, the Tocantins river waterway, the Tapajós river waterway and the Lagoa Mirim waterway.

Further details on government projections for these sectors can be accessed here, in Portuguese.