Banco do Brasil formalized, this Monday (13), a loan of R$2.6 billion for the government of São Paulo to pay for the Santos-Guarujá Tunnel. The credit operation will enable the beginning of the work, funded by the Lula (PT) and Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) administrations, and which became the target of a paternity dispute between the two governments, adversaries in the political sphere. In January, the contract was signed with the concessionaire Mota-Engil, which will build the tunnel, but so far the necessary contributions have not been made to start the works.
The financing formalization event was attended by vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) and the ministers of Finance, Dario Durigan, and Minister of Ports and Airport, Tomé Franca, who in their speeches praised the Lula government’s actions in favor of states and municipalities, “even if they benefited political opponents”, and highlighted that the immersed tunnel would only come to fruition because of the president.
According to the Globothe event took members of the state government by surprise, and was scheduled at the end of last week by the federal government. Tarcísio did not participate, and sent the Finance Secretary, Samuel Kinoshita, in his place.
Tarcísio had been saying, in recent days, that if necessary, the state was “ready to contribute 100% of the resources” necessary for the work and that the state government will invest much more than the federal government, which would have bothered members of the Lula government. The two managers, who are seeking re-election, seek to gain political profit from the tunnel, promised more than 100 years ago, which will be the first of its kind immersed in the country and is one of the largest infrastructure projects currently.
Members of the federal government, on the other hand, made a point of highlighting, at the event, that the project only came to fruition because of the President of the Republic. Behind the scenes, they claim that if the governor actually had money on hand, he would not have asked for the loan. People linked to Tarcísio privately criticized the event with such pomp, with the presence of the vice-president, and stated that there was “no need” for this and that the president was seeking to cash in on a state project. Furthermore, they point to a “delay” on the part of the Lula government in releasing the funding.
The tunnel, promised more than 100 years ago, will cost almost R$7 billion, and will have a public contribution of R$5.14 billion, which will be divided equally between the federal and state governments — around R$2.57 billion for each.
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Work divided between entities
At the loan formalization event, Alckmin recalled that, when he was governor of São Paulo, studies were carried out to define whether the crossing between Santos and Guarujá would be a bridge or a tunnel, and the conclusion was reached that the immersed tunnel was the best way out so as not to limit the height of ships passing through the port channel.
— Márcio França was the first Minister of Ports and Airports in the Lula government and went ahead with the tunnel. Things went well, a partnership was made for the state to bid and we are finally getting close to starting the works. This is a big win for the port and the entire region. The federal government will make its contribution through the Port of Santos and finance, through Banco do Brasil, R$ 2.57 billion for the state government with a one-year grace period and 23 years to pay. A beautiful partnership that will carry out a great project, which will attract more investment to our country and bring a better quality of life to the population. I want to salute this federative spirit — said the vice-president.
In his speech, Alckmin also recalled other financing made by BNDES to pay for major infrastructure and mobility works in São Paulo, such as the Rodoanel, the Intercidades Train (TIC) that will connect the capital to Campinas, and the expansion of Line 2 (Green) of the subway.
Durigan said that the tunnel is being built “by several hands”, but said that the loan was only made viable, “to a large extent, because the Union guarantees the operation, the resource with a guarantee from the Union, in case the state of São Paulo defaults”.
In March, Tarcísio announced the opening of additional credit to pay for the R$2.6 billion project. But he decided to take out the loan from Banco do Brasil to be able to release money into the budget, with the Union as guarantor of the operation.
Tarcísio explained that with the loan, he will be able to take the budget resource and use it for something else, or even use it “in case there is a problem with the federal contribution”. He highlighted that the partnership with the federal government “is welcome”, and that the loan is a “win-win” for the state and the bank.
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— Public banks need to build a portfolio, they need to lend money, this money has a capital cost, this also provides a financial return for the bank. For the state, this is interesting because it lengthens the payment, we pay this payment in long-term installments, which allows space for us to make other investments. The state wins, the bank wins – he said during the delivery of the new Varginha bus terminal, attached to the station of the same name on Line 9 (Esmeralda), hours before the Banco do Brasil event.
The federal government’s share is guaranteed by the Santos Port Authority (APS). However, so far the Union has not contributed money to the project because, in March, the Federal Audit Court (TCU) ordered the establishment, in March, of stricter rules for the governance of resources.
Despite avoiding directly criticizing Lula, the governor highlighted that the initiative to get the tunnel off the ground was his administration. The state updated a project by Desenvolvimento Rodoviário SA (Dersa), a defunct state-owned company that took care of highways and coastal crossings in the state. He also said that the state will pay much more for the work, because although the contribution is divided equally between the two entities, the payment when the tunnel starts operating and the expropriation costs, for example, are the responsibility of the state government.
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— My objective is to look at the results, the population being served, I’m not going to discuss paternity, that’s nonsense, what matters is doing it. In the partnership, the federal government provides 50% of the contribution, it is not 50% of the total cost of the project because this project has investment and has consideration. The contribution is divided, the consideration is 100% from the state government. So in the end, when you put it in the balance, it is more or less 84% from the state government and 16% from the federal government – he said.
