Tecon Santos 10 auction remains undecided and may be postponed to 2027
A dispute over participation rules is keeping the auction of the container megaterminal undecided; the project is expected to increase the Port of Santos's capacity by about 50%.
The auction for Tecon Santos 10, a megaterminal planned to expand container handling at the Port of Santos (SP), still has no concrete definition regarding its bidding model. The Ministry of Ports and Airports expects the auction to take place only in 2027.
Initially scheduled for 2022, the auction has already been postponed nine times. The main impasse concerns the competitors' participation rules, especially whether groups that already operate container terminals at the port may compete for the new asset.
The project is considered strategic because the Port of Santos operates close to its container capacity limit. The limited availability of areas has contributed to higher logistics costs, while operators and exporters warn of possible losses in competitiveness if new investments do not move forward.
Tecon Santos 10 has the potential to increase the port's container-handling capacity by approximately 50%. Despite consensus on the need for expansion, the competition design divides public bodies, port operators, shipping lines, and business organizations.
In 2025, Antaq presented a proposal that restricted, in a first phase, the participation of groups already present in Santos's container market. Those companies could compete for the terminal only if the auction received no bids, provided they divested assets to avoid market concentration.
The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU)'s review of the project added another layer to the debate. The ministers recommended that all shipping lines remain in the second phase of the auction, which would broaden the restrictions initially set by the regulatory agency.
Subsequently, the Civil House directed that the auction be open to all operators, including those already active at the Port of Santos, with the requirement that they divest assets if they win. Antaq, however, requested clearer guidelines to adapt the project to that direction.
As a result, a working group was created to prepare a document with the government's guidelines. The group remains active and holds meetings, but no concrete decision has yet been announced on the auction's final format.