Posted on March 16, 2026
Brazil has begun the process to hold the auction for the concession contract for the access channel to the country’s largest port, the port of Santos, which could generate investments of around 23 billion reais (US$4.4bn).
The sector’s regulatory agency, Antaq, has launched the public consultation process that will discuss the preparation of the contract’s tender notice. The public consultation runs until May 2.
The concession of the access channel would increase the depth of the channel, expanding the port’s capacity to receive larger vessels.
Currently, the Port of Santos already has works underway to increase the depth of the channel to up to 16 meters and, with the concession contract, the Brazilian government seeks to carry out additional work, increasing the depth to 18 meters.
The government has not disclosed an estimated date for holding the auction of the concession contract.
At the same time, the federal government is trying to move forward with the auction of the lease contract for the new container terminal Tecon Santos 10, with investments estimated at 6.45 billion (bn) reais.
However, the planned auction has already suffered a series of delays, as the government has been facing pressure behind the scenes from companies regarding whether or not to impose restrictions on the participants in the bidding process.
Originally, the auction was scheduled to take place at the end of last year and was later postponed to the first half of this year. Now, the government has announced that it expects the auction to be held only in the second half of the year.
The contracts at the Port of Santos attract strong interest from participants, since it is Brazil’s main port, historically accounting for at least 25% of the country’s foreign trade.
