Posted on September 21, 2026
Brazil’s ambitious 2026 port concession programme is running well behind schedule, with only three of 18 planned auctions completed as the country heads towards the final quarter of the year.
A review published by Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo on Sunday showed that 15 port projects originally targeted for auction this year remain outstanding, part of a wider R$204bn ($38bn) infrastructure pipeline increasingly likely to spill into 2027 and beyond.
The government entered 2026 planning 18 port tenders as well as five concessions covering major inland waterways. The only port auctions completed so far were POA26 at Porto Alegre, MCP01 at Santana in Amapá and NAT01 at Natal. Those three terminal auctions, completed in February, secured commitments for more than R$226m in private investment.
The remaining programme includes some of the most closely watched assets in Brazilian ports. Chief among them is Tecon Santos 10, the proposed new container terminal at Latin America’s largest port. The project, which envisages investment of around R$6.4bn, has become bogged down in debate over the auction model and competition rules.
Brazil is also seeking to shift the management of access channels towards long-term concessions covering dredging, navigation aids and vessel traffic management. The access channel at Santos remains in consultation, while the country’s first proposed federal waterway concessions have also slipped.
All five waterway projects scheduled for this year have been pushed back as environmental, technical and political issues complicate schemes on rivers including the Madeira, Tapajós, Tocantins and Paraguay.
The slowdown comes despite Brasília continuing to emphasise private capital as central to expanding port capacity. The Ministry of Ports and Airports says its 2025-26 project portfolio covers 42 port developments with more than R$22bn of expected investment.
Brazil has been one of the world’s most active port concession markets in recent years. The challenge now is turning an increasingly complex pipeline into signed deals before political attention shifts to the next administration.
