Official advocate unrestricted participation of operators; Antaq says restrictions will mitigate market concentration
The Government of (Republicans) entered this Thursday (5.Jun.2025) in the dispute around (Tecon Santos 10), in the port of Santos. In a letter sent to the Federal Government, the State of São Paulo stated that the restrictions imposed by Antaq (National Waterway Transportation Agency) to the participation of companies that already operate in the port of Santos “Empty the wide competition”.
The auction established More than R $ 5 billion In investments for what was designed to be the largest container terminal in Latin America. Read the document signed by Secretaries Rafael Benini (Investment Partnerships) and Natália Resende (Environment, Infrastructure and Logistics) (PDF – 40 KB).
Antaq organized the selection in two phases. In the 1st, the current terminal operators in Santos (Santos Brazil, BTP and DPW) are prevented from participating. If no one finishes, these companies can enter the 2nd stage, but they would be required to get rid of today’s assets.
If the deliberation is validated by the Ministry of Ports and Airports and the TCU (Federal Court of Auditors), the auction is expected to be held later this year.
In the letter sent to the Ministry of Ports and Airports, the São Paulo government stated that the rules “Prevent the participation of technically qualified economic agents”. According to Tarcisio’s management, this can result in the provision of a less efficient and more costly service.
According to the document, Antaq itself presents in the 2nd stage an alternative “Less Grave” by allowing participation by divestment – which would demonstrate, in the state government’s view, there is no legal justifications for the restriction of the 1st phase.
The government of São Paulo also argued that the market concentration analysis should be done by Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense).
Antaq’s decision was endorsed by the Board of Directors on Thursday (5.Jun), and the auction rules were sent to the TCU.
STS10
Tecon 10 will be installed in the region of Saboó, in Santos. The terminal will occupy an area of 621,900 m², with 1.3 km of pier. It is expected to start operating in 2027, moving up to 3.5 million yours (unit equivalent to a 20 -foot container) per year from 2034.
The estimated investment is over R $ 5 billion. Terminal operation should increase between 40% and 50% the total container movement capacity in the port of Santos.
