Court of Auditors revoked the injunction that barred federal funding for the tunnel; work should start in January 2027
The Minister of Ports and Airports, Tomé Franca, stated this Wednesday (May 20, 2026) that the impasse involving the Federal Audit Court has been resolved. According to him, there are no more pending issues with the Court of Auditors that would impede the progress of the work, which is scheduled to begin in the 1st quarter of 2027.
“The tunnel has been announced and will come to fruition”, he stated.
The statement was given at a public hearing at the Road and Transport Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The meeting was requested by the deputy (PL – SP) to hear Franca about the effects of the TCU decision that had precautionarily suspended the federal contribution of around R$2.6 billion to the project. The funds would be transferred by the (Santos Port Authority), linked to , to the PPP (public-private partnership) for the tunnel.
“For many years this work was announced in an election year, but it ended up not happening”, said the congresswoman during the session.
The TCU, however, had already revoked on May 6 the precautionary measure that temporarily prevented federal transfer to the project. The Court released the contribution of R$2.6 billion from the Union, but maintained the requirement to formalize the PPP’s governance and inspection rules. The original decision, taken in March, was motivated by the absence of a legal instrument considered adequate to discipline the use of federal resources and ensure control, transparency and accountability.
According to the executive secretary of MPor (Ministry of Ports and Airports), Alex Sandro de Ávila, the solution found by the ministry was to increase the participation of APS (Santos Port Authority) in the governance of the project. The port authority will become part of PPP monitoring bodies, including the board of directors responsible for monitoring contract execution.
Tomé Franca also stated during the session that APS’s financial contribution will be made with resources from the Port of Santos itself, which is public. In addition to the contributions made by the federal Executive, the project has participation from the government of São Paulo. In March, the São Paulo government authorized additional credit of R$2.64 billion for the tunnel. In the following month, Banco do Brasil formalized a credit operation worth R$ 2.57 billion to finance the State’s counterpart in the PPP
The ministry’s objective is for the work to begin in January 2027. The official schedule determines that the maximum deadline for starting construction is the end of the 1st quarter of next year.
DATES
- Feb.2025: publication of the notice;
- sep.2025: auction held;
- 1st quarter of 2027: start of work
- 2030: completion of the tunnel.
THE SANTOS-GUARUJÁ TUNNEL
The tunnel is identified by the federal government as the largest infrastructure project in the New PAC and will be carried out through a PPP, with a 30-year concession contract. The project, estimated at R$6.8 billion, provides for an underwater connection between Santos and Guarujá and should reduce to around 5 minutes a crossing that today can take up to 18 minutes by ferry or approximately 1 hour via the Cônego Domênio Rangoni highway.
The structure will have 3 lanes per direction, one adapted for future VLT operation, as well as a cycle path, pedestrian crossing and technical gallery for public service networks. The work will be carried out using the immersed tunnel method, unprecedented in Brazil. The Mota-Engil concessionaire won the auction held in 2025, with a 0.50% discount on the annual public consideration of R$438 million.
