Posted on December 10, 2025
The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) resumes this Monday (8) the judgment of the case concerning the auction of the Santos Port megaterminal (SP), Tecon Santos 10. According to Valor’s reporting, the Court’s plenary is inclined to adopt a more restrictive model for the bidding process. In an optimistic scenario, the auction could raise around R$ 5 billion solely in concession bonuses.
The expectation is that the tender will take place in March 2026. The megaterminal, planned to cover 622,000 square meters in the Saboó region, on the right bank of the port, will have an initial contract term of 25 years, which may be renewed for up to 70 years.
The main discussion at the TCU concerns the auction model. The board of the National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq) proposed carrying out the bidding in two phases, with restrictions on the participation of companies already operating in the region. These companies could only compete in the second phase if there were no interested parties in the first.
The issue is dividing the port sector and the government, both of which await the TCU’s decision, with the understanding that the position may guide the final design of the auction. The matter has also been the subject of legal disputes involving Antaq’s authority to define the rules.
At the end of November, the Court began the debate. The rapporteur, Minister Antonio Anastasia, defended a single-phase auction with no restrictions on participation. However, he voted that, if a currently established operator wins the auction, it must divest its existing terminal — a mechanism already included in Antaq’s proposal.
Minister Bruno Dantas dissented and suggested a two-phase model, restricting carrier participation — rather than that of all operators — in the first stage. The objective is to avoid excessive vertical integration of operations at the Port of Santos.
Dantas also stated that there is no illegality in Antaq’s proposal, which would prevent the TCU from altering the model presented by the agency, which is legally responsible for defining the auction parameters.
During the judgment, Minister Augusto Nardes requested a review, but Ministers Walton Alencar Rodrigues and Jorge Oliveira anticipated votes in favor of Dantas. There is an expectation that Ministers Jonathan de Jesus and the TCU president, Vital do Rêgo, will also support that view, forming the necessary majority to approve the more restrictive model.
Despite the government’s initial concerns about a potential reduction in competition, sources heard by Valor say that Brazilian, Filipino, and Chinese companies have shown interest in the mega-auction.
