APS states that the Court’s demands on governance and transfers will not compromise the progress of the project
The president of the (Santos Port Authority), stated this Thursday (19.mar.2026) that the decision of the (Federal Audit Court) to suspend transfers of R$2.6 billion for the Santos–Guarujá tunnel will not delay the work schedule for the underwater tunnel that will connect the cities of Santos and Guarujá.
According to him, the Court of Auditors’ determination that the transfer will not be carried out until there is an appropriate legal instrument that guarantees the controlled application of the resource “is correct” and will be followed by the APS, with the necessary adjustments.
“The Authority has already requested the State Government to draft the contract for analysis. After this evaluation and definition of the governance model, APS will be able to sign it as consenting and intervening party, as it will pay 50% of the cost of the Tunnel. These are important formal adjustments that do not affect the work schedule”he told the Poder360.
The TCU gave 30 days for the port authority to present, together with the State of São Paulo, a formal governance agreement. The document must define monitoring rules, financial schedule and accountability, in order to guarantee transparency in the use of public resources.
According to the rapporteur, the measure could generate legal uncertainty, change the division of risks in the contract and open space for disputes about economic-financial rebalancing.
The tunnel
This is the largest infrastructure project in the New PAC. The concession contract will last 30 years, using the PPP model.
The crossing between the two cities, which currently takes up to 18 minutes by ferry or 1 hour via the Cônego Domênio Rangoni highway, will take around 5 minutes via the tunnel.
The work, expected for more than 100 years, will be the first structure of its kind in Brazil and the largest in Latin America when completed.
The structure will have:
- 3 lanes per direction, one for the future VLT (Light Rail Vehicle);
- cycle path and pedestrian walkway;
- technical gallery for public service networks (water, energy, telecommunications).
How the construction will work
The tunnel will be built using the immersed tunnel method, established in countries such as the Netherlands, Japan and China, but unprecedented in Brazil. This process differs from a tunnel excavated in rock, such as a subway tunnel. Instead, it uses precast concrete modules, built on land and then positioned at the bottom of the canal.
The project is of the type “greenfield” –that is, developed without pre-existing infrastructure, based on estimates of future demand.
WHO WILL DO THE WORK
The Portuguese company, 32.41% controlled by (China Communications Construction Company), won the event.
With no experience in immersed tunnels, the company will rely on the expertise of the Chinese company, responsible for projects such as the underwater tunnels in Dalian Bay and the connection between Shenzhen and Zhongshan, as well as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge-tunnel.
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is considered the longest and widest continuous immersed tunnel in the world: 5,035 meters long, built in 80,000-ton sections and installed with intelligent transport and positioning equipment.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge-tunnel combines bridges and a 6,700-meter immersed tunnel, making it the longest underwater section ever built in a bridge-tunnel type project.
Mota-Engil offered a discount of 0,50% on the annual public consideration of R$438 million provided for in the notice. The state transfer to the project will be made from the beginning of operations and will rely on resources from the State of São Paulo and the Union. Here is the notice (PDF – 699 kB).
The other proponent was , which is already carrying out the work on Line 6-Orange of the São Paulo Metro. The Spanish company did not offer a discount on the consideration.
The low number of interested parties and conservative bids were already expected. Experts attribute this to the high volume of investments required and the technical complexity of the work.
