Port of Santos privatisation to include mega container terminal lease

According to the Minister, the operation draft should be ready to go to the plenary of the audit court TCU by the end of November. If approved, the Ministry expects the call for bids to be published in early December. A total of $4.7bn (BRL25bn) should be invested throughout the entire privatisation process.

Marcelo Sampaio also said that the railways to be built with the federal government’s authorisation without the need for a public tender should start getting off the ground in the middle of 2023. The first company to become the owner and operator of such rail tracks is Eldorado Celulose.

The company applied for authorization at the end of 2021 to build an 89 km rail network that connects Três Lagoas (MS) to Aparecida do Taboado (MS). The expectation of investment in this route is $168m (BRL890m).

The Minister also said that he has already signed the decree that regulates the BR do Mar, a law that seeks to encourage coastal shipping in Brazil. However, its implementation will only occur after the runoff of the presidential elections, next Sunday.