Sponsored By

Port of Santos terminal bid put on hold for Presidential electionsPort of Santos terminal bid put on hold for Presidential elections

The Brazilian government temporarily gave up on putting up a bid for the new mega terminal at the Port of Santos, which promises to expand its container handling capacity by up to 40%.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

August 31, 2022

2 Min Read
Porto de Santos out 2021
Photo: Port of Santos

Depending on the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections, the new terminal – also known as STS10 – will only be put up for bid after the privatisation of the Santos Port Authority (SPA), a process whose preliminary documents the Federal Court of Accounts should review with further scrutiny this week.

To give a dimension of what it means to implement the STS10 “mega terminal,” the Brazilian government has been currently referring to the bidding of STS08 and STS08A, two fuel terminals, as the “largest in history.” The two terminals will be auctioned in November.

Technical studies carried out by Brazil’s Planning and Logistics Company (EPL in Portuguese), which will have to be updated, in addition to competition issues.

The STS10 would replace three smaller terminals that presently handle vehicles and non-unitised loads, such as wind turbines and electric transformers. There is still no word on how or where these cargoes will be relocated once the containers arrive.

Given these factors, the government decided that the studies need to be updated, which brings the bidding process back to a stage in which the port privatisation is more advanced.

The outcome will also greatly depend on the electoral process. If President Jair Bolsonaro is re-elected, privatisation is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023, with new private partners in the port of Santos tendering the “mega terminal.” If former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returns to the Presidency, the tendency is for port officials to stick to the original plan. Workers Party’s advisors have already announced that Lula does not intend to private the port, a scenario in which the “mega container terminal” would be auctioned by the government, as it would have been in case the tender happened this year.

Related:Port of Santos sees 20.6% box volume growth in 2021

The Ministry of Infrastructure wanted to auction the terminal before privatising the port, but the second option turned out to be more feasible.

The new terminal was designed to reconfigure the port and promote competition. It has the potential to attract around $1.9BN in grants. Even if the lease takes place after privatisation, the government would have to “boost” the granting of the port auction to compensate for the loss of the asset.

The STS10 will have a capacity like the terminals of Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP) and Santos Brasil. As per the current tender rules, BTP cannot participate in the event. However, the company’s partners – APM Terminals, controlled by Maersk, and TIL, controlled by MSC – would be able to participate separately

Related:Brazil expands port of Santos boundaries ahead of privatisation

Read more about:

port of Santos

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

Get the latest maritime news, analysis and more delivered to your inbox
Join 12,000+ members of the maritime community

You May Also Like