{"id":93687,"date":"2025-04-10T22:30:31","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T01:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/?p=93687"},"modified":"2025-04-10T22:30:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T01:30:34","slug":"santos-guaruja-tunnel-auction-draws-interest-from-four-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/santos-guaruja-tunnel-auction-draws-interest-from-four-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Santos-Guaruj\u00e1 tunnel auction draws interest from four groups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Construction cost and port disruption top list of investor worries<\/strong><\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

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04\/10\/2025 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The auction for the Santos-Guaruj\u00e1 tunnel concession<\/a> is scheduled for August, but private-sector players are already gearing up for what is considered an exceptionally complex project. According to sources familiar with the matter, at least four business groups are actively studying the bid: China\u2019s CCCC, partnered with Portugal\u2019s Mota-Engil; Spain\u2019s Acciona; Italy\u2019s WeBuild, teaming up with Brazilian companies Andrade Gutierrez; and OEC (Odebrecht Engenharia e Constru\u00e7\u00e3o), which is finalizing a joint venture with Queiroz Galv\u00e3o\u2019s EGTC and a third, as-yet-undisclosed firm expected to provide the financial backing for the consortium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odebrecht has reportedly held talks with several asset managers and international companies\u2014including WeBuild and Chinese groups\u2014in a bid to secure a financially viable partnership. One source indicated that with the addition of the third investor, now in advanced negotiations, the consortium\u2019s financial structure would be in place. The company is also said to have hired an international firm specialized in tunnel design, given that the construction method being proposed has never before been used in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acciona has already partnered with Ballast Nedam, a Dutch firm specializing in submerged tunnel construction. Sources say the Spanish group has been studying the project for over a year and has held biweekly meetings with government officials. Talks were reportedly held with Vinci to potentially form a consortium, but the French firm ultimately walked away. Observers note, however, that Vinci remains interested in the auction, though its immediate focus is on other large-scale mobility projects in S\u00e3o Paulo that require substantial capital investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acciona told Valor<\/strong> that it is \u201cconstantly assessing opportunities\u201d and sees \u201csignificant value in Brazilian infrastructure assets.\u201d CCCC, Odebrecht, EGTC, and Andrade Gutierrez declined to comment. Mota-Engil, WeBuild, and Ballast Nedam had not responded by press time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The auction is widely seen in the market as highly challenging. The construction will require significant investment, involve an engineering method unprecedented in Brazil, and may interfere with operations at the country\u2019s largest port. On the other hand, the fact that both the S\u00e3o Paulo state government and the federal government are contributing funds and sharing key risks is viewed as a strong point for the project\u2019s feasibility, according to industry sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One major red flag cited by analysts is the project\u2019s estimated rate of return, which some say is based on outdated interest rate assumptions. Given the complexity and risk of the initiative, they argue that a revised rate reflecting current financial conditions is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also doubts surrounding the capital expenditure estimates. The project\u2019s preliminary studies put CapEx at R$5.8 billion, but sources say the figure may be significantly underestimated due to incomplete technical details in certain areas of the project, which introduce uncertainty. The final construction cost, they warn, could be considerably higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts are also concerned about potential impacts on shipping traffic. \u201cThe challenge is to execute a project of this scale without disrupting ongoing port operations,\u201d said Casemiro T\u00e9rcio Carvalho, a partner at infrastructure consultancy 4 Infra. \u201cIt\u2019s a logistical challenge both for the port authority and for the contractor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil engineer and infrastructure consultant Jennyfer Tsai flagged further complications related to the staging areas where tunnel segments\u2014which are to be built off-site and then submerged\u2014will be constructed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The auction notice identifies four possible locations within the Port of Santos for this activity, but Ms. Tsai noted that all of them overlap with areas designated for future terminal projects by the port authority, raising doubts over land availability. \u201cIf none of these sites can be used, that will drive up costs,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, the Santos Port Authority (APS) said it is working to ensure \u201cthat any proposed location aligns with current port planning and is compatible with strategic projects underway,\u201d while adding that the final site selection will be the concessionaire\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding concerns about shipping operations, APS said that the tunnel is \u201curgently needed and will be built with the highest level of responsibility, with any necessary navigation suspensions planned well in advance in coordination with terminal operators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Department of Investment Partnerships emphasized that the tunnel project was designed to minimize disruption to port activity. \u201cNavigation through the main channel is expected to be suspended for only two days per module\u2014six modules are currently planned, though that number could be reduced,\u201d the agency stated. It also defended the current return and CapEx parameters, saying they were \u201cbased on robust studies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite lingering concerns, analysts and insiders acknowledged that several major risks\u2014such as demand uncertainty, expropriation challenges, and geotechnical issues\u2014have been adequately addressed. \u201cFrom a regulatory standpoint, I don\u2019t see any deal-breakers. The risk matrix already accounts for key issues,\u201d Mr. Carvalho said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The auction is set for August 1. The contract will be awarded to the bidder offering the highest discount on annual payments, which are capped at R$304 million. If the maximum discount (100%) is reached, bidders may then offer a discount on the public subsidy, which can go up to R$4.96 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*By\u00a0Ta\u00eds Hirata\u00a0\u2014 S\u00e3o Paulo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: VAlor International<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/valorinternational.globo.com\/business\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Construction cost and port disruption top list of investor worries 04\/10\/2025 The auction for the Santos-Guaruj\u00e1 tunnel concession is scheduled for August, but private-sector players are already gearing up for what is considered an exceptionally complex project. According to sources familiar with the matter, at least four business groups are actively studying the bid: China\u2019s CCCC, partnered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8106],"tags":[26025],"class_list":["post-93687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-murray-news","tag-santos-guaruja-tunnel"],"yoast_head":"\nSantos-Guaruj\u00e1 tunnel auction draws interest from four groups - Murray Advogados<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/santos-guaruja-tunnel-auction-draws-interest-from-four-groups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Santos-Guaruj\u00e1 tunnel auction draws interest from four groups - Murray Advogados\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Construction cost and port disruption top list of investor worries 04\/10\/2025 The auction for the Santos-Guaruj\u00e1 tunnel concession is scheduled for August, but private-sector players are already gearing up for what is considered an exceptionally complex project. 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