Privatization of the Port of Santos ‘was a bit of a daydream’, says minister – 05/05/2023 – Market

The Minister of Ports and Airports, Márcio França, said this Friday (5) that the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will not continue the process of privatization of Brazilian port authorities, initiated in the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Bolsonaro privatized the Port of Vitória and was preparing to bid for the Port of Santos, but was defeated at the polls in October 2022. For France, the possibility of transferring the management of the largest Brazilian port to the private sector “was a bit of a daydream”.

“It’s out of the question,” he said, when asked about the process during a visit to the Port of Rio. “The subject of privatization of port authorities was only done in two small countries and it went very wrong”, he added.

He alleges that the ports are of strategic importance in the countries’ foreign trade and, therefore, must be managed by the State, to avoid the risk of boycotts in case of commercial disputes with companies from the country of the private operator.

He mentioned orange exports by São Paulo as an example. “Then a public company from a country, for example, China, which today is our competitor, wins and says that it no longer wants oranges in the Port of Santos. What am I going to do with that orange tree in the interior?”

França said that the work on the tunnel between Santos and Guarujá, one of the counterparts that would be included in the privatization notice prepared by Bolsonaro, will be done with resources from the port itself. The tender for the works, he said, will be released by the end of the year.

The privatization of Santos was one of the main projects of the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio Gomes Freitas, when he commanded Bolsonaro’s Ministry of Infrastructure. In an interview with Veja magazine at the end of April, Tarcísio showed optimism about the continuity of the process.

França recalled that the Port of Vitória, the only one privatized by Bolsonaro, multiplied by 18 the amount charged per vessel that operates there — from BRL 1,100 to BRL 18,700 — generating complaints from customers such as the mining company Vale.

During this Friday’s visit, the minister said he wants to replicate the model of the Port of Rio in other Brazilian cities, with the transformation of part of the structure into equipment for public use, such as cultural centers or restaurants.

In downtown Rio, abandoned warehouses were transformed into areas for cultural and corporate events, as well as bars and restaurants. “It can do many more things besides a passenger terminal”, he commented.