Port terminal in Paraná wins BRL 1 million bid – 02/24/2023 – Market

With a single bid worth R$ 1 million, the company FTS Participações Societárias won this Friday (24) the auction for the lease of a port area in the port of Paranaguá (PR) called PAR50. The minimum grant amount was BRL 1.

With 85 thousand square meters, the port terminal is intended for the movement and storage of liquid bulk and is located on the west side of the port’s wharf, which handled around 60 million tons in 2022.

The concession of the area will be for a period of 25 years, when investments of approximately R$ 340 million are foreseen.

Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Ports and Airports, Roberto Duarte Gusmão stated that the government is working to promote new leases in the coming months. According to him, “several auctions” are scheduled for the months of April and May, especially in the northeast, such as the ports of Maceió and Mucuripe in Ceará.

“We believe that in the month of April, at the most May, we can carry out a new round of port leases”, said the secretary, who represented Minister Márcio França in the auction held at B3, in São Paulo.

“We are convinced that we need to speed up these processes a lot, not only concession and lease, but also TUP authorizations [Terminal de Uso Privado]of renovations, which need to be expedited so that we can have investment in the country, and that we can have jobs”, said Gusmão.

The ministry secretary also discussed the plans for the port of Santos under the Lula government. The project to grant the port in Baixada Santista to the private sector was defended in the previous administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) by the former Minister of Infrastructure and current governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans).

“It is not news that we, as a government, have a difference in understanding [em relação ao governo anterior] on the privatization of the port authority, mainly the port of Santos”, said Gusmão, adding that an eventual privatization of the port of Santos is being discussed by Minister Márcio França (Ports and Airports) and by President Lula, but that there is still no definition on the theme.

“The former minister and now governor [Tarcísio de Freitas] has a vision. The federal government needs to be convinced that this is the best vision for the country. The port of Santos is the most important in Latin America and we need to be very careful with such a decision.”

He also recalled the privatization of Codesa (Companhia Docas do Espírito Santo), which took place about a year ago. According to the secretary, a renationalization of the person responsible for the ports of Vitória and Barra do Riacho has been ruled out. However, he said that the government intends to discuss new port privatizations in the country.

“We understand that a strong port authority is in a position to fulfill its role as a development agent for the State, and, at the same time, attract private initiative, providing legal security to investors.”