Brasília – The Brazilian National Waterway Transport Agency (ANTAQ) opened a public consultation this Monday (31) to receive suggestions and contributions on the privatization of the Port of Santos in the state of São Paulo. Interested parties have until March 16 to contribute exclusively through the electronic form available online.
“If the interested party does not have the necessary resources to send the contribution through the electronic form, it may do so using the computers of the General Secretariat (SGE) of this agency, in Brasília (DF), or in its regional units, whose addresses are available on the ANTAQ website. The contributions received will be made available to interested parties on the agency’s website,” informed ANTAQ in a release.
Concession
According to the agency, the concession period for the port terminal will be 35 years, renewable for another five years. The estimated investments to adapt the port’s infrastructure total BRL 16 billion (about USD 3 billion at the current rate), and the investments must be made throughout the contract term. The initial grant will be BRL 1.383 billion (about USD 258 million), “in addition to a variable contribution to the Granting Authority equivalent to 2.25% per year on the consolidated gross revenue,” informed ANTAQ.
The future concessionaire will also have to pay an annual inspection fee of BRL 6.422 million (about USD 1.2 million) to ANTAQ. This amount will pay for the inspection and regulation work in the concession model.
Also according to ANTAQ, lessees, holders of transitional contracts, shipowners, ocean carriers, port operators, terminals for the private use of the port complex, railroad concessionaires operating in the Port of Santos, as well as companies belonging to the economic group will be able to participate in the event, though, with a share limitation of 15% for individual participation and 40% when they are part of a consortium with other groups of the same nature.
According to the model proposed by ANTAQ, a financial contribution of approximately BRL 3 billion (about USD 560 million) is expected to be paid by the future concessionaire to construct a tunnel to connect the municipalities of Santos and Guarujá.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
