Posted on October 6, 2021
The Brazilian government is getting ready to offer leasing contracts for nine port terminals in November.
Some analysts see the upcoming auctions as part of an effort by the government to show the success of its program of concessions in the face of next year’s elections.
“This is part of an electoral agenda and an effort to boost economic activity in 2022, a year of elections, where President [Jair] Bolsonaro may enter the race weakened because of the risk that the economy will not grow next year,” Lucas Fernandes, a political analyst at the BMJ Consultant group, told BNamericas.
The terminals to be offered are expected to generate a combined investments of 1.42bn reais (US$264mn), according to waterway transport agency ANTAQ.
Bolsonaro, who has confirmed his intention to run in the October 2022 elections, has been busy in recent days attending a series of inaugurations and infrastructure investment announcements.
According to the latest election polls, former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva enjoys a wide lead over Bolsonaro.
The far-right Bolsonaro has recently seen his already-weak popularity being further eroded by high inflation, which is running at an annual rate of close to 10%.
The concessions agenda is likely to be busy in the coming months as the government intends to anticipate various auctions as investor appetite is likely to be lower in the months before the elections.
“Historically, when election time approaches, investors are more cautious to better understand what the fiscal program is, what the government program of each candidate is,” Venilton Tadini, the president of infrastructure and basic industries association Abdib, told BNamericas in a recent interview.
There will be separate auctions for each of the port terminals that will be offered in November.
On November 5, MUC59 (port of Fortaleza), MAC13 (Maceió port), and Tersab in the Areia Branca port complex, will be auctioned.
Another six terminals will be auctioned on November 19: STS08 and STS08A in the port of Santos, POA01 in Porto Alegre’s port, IMB05 and ITG03 in the port of Itaguaí, and AE-14 in Cabedelo port.
Here BNamericas takes a close look at the terminals.
MUC59
Located in the capital of northeast state of Ceará, it is a 25,628m2 terminal focused mainly on fuels, with estimated annual cargo handling of 6.8Mt.
The leasing contract will be for 14 years and demand investments of 121mn reais.
MAC13
Based in the capital of northeast Alagoas state and mainly focused on sugar transportation, it has an extension of 71,262m2 comprises with annual cargo handling of around 25Mt.
The 25-year contract will require investments of 57.8mn reais.
TERSAB
Located in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, the 35,114m2 terminal is used for handling and storage of bulk minerals, especially sea salt, with an estimated annual movement of 69.3Mt.
The contract of 25 years foresees investments worth 164mn reais.
STS08
Based in the country’s busiest port in São Paulo state, the 168,324m2 terminal is used for the movement, storage and distribution of fuels. The estimated annual cargo handing is 69.7Mt.
The contract will last for 25 years and require investments of 261mn reais.
STS08A
Also located in Santos port, the 297,349m2 terminal is used for the movement, storage and distribution of bulk liquids, with annual cargo handling estimated at 140Mt.
The 25-year contract will demand 678mn reais in investments.
POA01
Based in the capital of southern Rio Grande do Sul state, the 21,500m2 terminal handles and stores bulk vegetable solids.
The 10-year contract will demand investments of 41.2mn reais.
IMB05
The 7,455m2 terminal is located in the southern state of Santa Catarina and is used for liquid bulk handling and storage.
The 10-year contract foresees investments worth 25mn reais.
ITG03
Based in Rio de Janeiro state, the 22,564m2 terminal is used for the movement and storage of bulk mineral solids, with its annual cargo handing an estimated 5Mt.
The 10-year contract foresees 71.2mn reais in investments.
AE-14
The 4,881m2 terminal is located in northeastern Paraíba state. It is used for handling of general cargo with an annual movement of around 486,000 tons.
The 10-year contract will demand investments of 1.7mn reais.
