Casa Civil sends new guidelines to the Ministry of Ports and Airports on disputes without veto for shipowners and incumbents of the Port of Santos
The Presidency of the Republic asked on Wednesday (May 6, 2026), through the Civil House, that the Ministry of Ports and Airports speed up the publication of the auction for the Tecon Santos 10 megaterminal, in the Port of Santos (SP).
In a letter sent to Minister Tomé Franca, Planalto gave new guidelines for holding the event, based on a technical note and studies by the Regulatory Superintendency of the National Waterway Transport Agency. Read the order (PDF – 47 kB).
The document recommends that the event be held no vetoes against shipowners (ship owners) and incumbents (already established port terminal operators)as long as the agents already operating at the site agree to divest from their current position in the complex.
In practice, the text proposes the mandatory sale of assets or equity interests that a company already has in the Port of Santos as a condition for it to take over the operation of the new terminal, if it wins the dispute.
The note suggests that they be treated as “new competitors” both companies that are not yet in the Port of Santos and those that already operate there, as long as the agents in the 2nd group prove that they have already put their current businesses up for sale definitively. Read the document (PDF – 376 kB).
According to the text, the guidelines aim to balance free competition with operational efficiency, avoiding including restrictions in the dispute that could alienate investors.
