Brazil to open public consultation for US$650mn Santos port concession

The Brazilian government will hold a public consultation from March 8 to April 21 to draft the tender notice for the concession of container terminal STS10 in Santos, which is the country's busiest port.

The 25-year leasing contract for the new terminal in São Paulo state is expected to generate investments of 3.29bn reais (US$650mn), federal port authority Antaq said in a statement without providing a timetable for the auction.

The terminal will occupy an area of 601,101m2 and have an operating capacity of at least 1.9mn TEUs/y. 

Among the required works for the winner of the contract are building a 1,209m berth, deep dredging in the berth area, and constructing a rail connection with an extension of at least 1,500m, Antaq said. 

In recent years, the government has offered leasing contracts for multiple port terminals as a way to attract private investors to the sector. Robust commodities demand has allowed Brazilian ports to weather the COVID-19 pandemic well and this has helped generate strong investor interest in the concessions being offered.