Investments expected from all the auctions held this year are close to R$ 1 billion
Brasília 13/12/2023 – The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Ports and Airports and the National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ), held an auction on Wednesday (13) to lease four port areas located in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Alagoas.
The auction marks a solid year of planned investments in the Brazilian port sector. In 2023 there were two auctions held by ANTAQ that forecast almost R$1 billion in investments. It is worth remembering that the first round of leases generated R$200 million in grants alone. To find out more, click here.
This Wednesday’s auction included two areas in the Port of Porto Alegre (POA 02 and POA 11), an area in the Port of Rio Grande (RIG 71) and an area in the Port of Maceió (MAC 15).
The auction raised more than R$ 2 million for the public coffers.
The first terminal to be auctioned was RIG 71, an area intended for the handling and storage of solid vegetable bulk, except soybeans, which is 11 m² in size with a ten-year term and with investments planned for this terminal in excess of R$27 million.
The area was won for R$1 million by AC Vita Serviços de Armazenagem LTDA.
Then it was the turn of the POA 02 and POA 11 terminals to be auctioned off.
The first deals with an area for inland waterway and cabotage shipping operations, storage and shipping by waterway and involves investments of more than R$16 million.
The terminal was won by Serra Morena Corretora Ltda for R$2 thousand.
POA 11 is an area dedicated to the handling of solid vegetable or mineral bulk cargoes, with an investment value of more than R$5 million.
The company Unifertil Universal de Fertilizantes LTDA won the area for R$ 50 thousand.
The last terminal to be auctioned was MAC 15, Port of Maceió (AL).
The company Intermarítima Portos E Logística S/A won the auction for R$1 million.
The auctioned area will be used for handling and storing solid mineral bulk, especially salt.
The contract has a term of five years and the investment forecast is R$7.2 million.
Economic development
The auction was attended by the Minister for Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, who in his speech congratulated ANTAQ’s work both in the process of drawing up the calls for tender and in providing services to the country.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate the institutional role that ANTAQ has played in defense and in favor of Brazil. The Agency plays a central role in the development of our country. This is the first auction I’ve participated in and this moment is in line with the economic development program that the Federal Government has been working on in this country. The port agenda is crucial for Brazil’s growth,” he said.
Also speaking was ANTAQ’s director general, Eduardo Nery, who explained that the Capex figures and the planned investments are designed to ensure that the port is operated efficiently.
He also explained the country’s need to adopt the Landlord Port model.
In this model, the port’s infrastructure is provided by the state, and the private sector is responsible for supplying the superstructure and carrying out port operations through leases (concessions).
“We know that the port is often unable to make the investments that are planned so that the port can be operated efficiently.
That’s why we adopted the landlord model, with public areas within the port being exploited by private entities,” he said.
Future auctions
Nery also spoke about the Agency’s main future challenges.
According to the director-general, leases are planned for various port areas in the country, as well as concessions for access channels and the launch of tenders for waterways.
“Next year we have a bigger challenge with R$9 billion to R$10 billion in national port areas, as well as the Paranaguá access channel concession. By the beginning of next year, we already have four areas in Recife that will have their tenders launched, along with VDC 04. We also plan to move forward with the Itajaí process and hope to open public hearings to discuss future waterway concession notices, a priority within our Agency,” he commented.
It is worth remembering that terminal VDC04, located in the Port of Vila do Conde (PA) was withdrawn from the auction last Friday (8) due to calculation update formalities. After deliberations and with a view to ensuring the smoothness of the leasing process, ANTAQ decided to establish a public consultation period for analysis.
Source: ANTAQ (Press Office)
