New Container Terminal STS10 Development at Port of Santos Moves Forward
Brazil is proceeding with the long-delayed development of a new container terminal at the Port of Santos. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) instructed the state-owned logistics company Infra SA to create a concession model for the STS10 terminal. The Brazilian government has aimed to implement this project since 2019, during Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. The new terminal is expected to provide much-needed capacity as container business at the Port of Santos continues to grow.
Source: Port of Santos
However, after President Lula da Silva’s government took office in 2023, plans to privatize the Port of Santos’ administrator were abandoned. The new directive from MPor now seeks to revise the earlier model, with preparations underway for an auction in 2025.
According to MPor, “In the model recommended by MPor, in alignment with the presidential chief of staff’s office, there will be four berths in the terminal. The original project provided for three berths. This will increase the container capacity at the country’s largest port, Santos, by 50 percent.”
Currently, the Port of Santos processes 6 million TEU annually, and this figure is expected to rise to 9 million with the addition of the new terminal. Additionally, there are plans to construct a new passenger terminal within the 601,000 square meters allocated to STS10.
Despite the progress, the development of STS10 has faced controversy. Part of the area designated for the STS10 terminal in the Saboo region is occupied by a multipurpose terminal operated by Ecoporto. The concession contract for this terminal expires at the end of the year, and some shipping companies argue that if the contract is renewed, the space available for container operations will decrease.
The auction for STS10 represents a shift in the Brazilian government’s approach to port privatization. Last month, CMA CGM acquired a 48 percent stake in Santos Brasil, a prominent terminal operator in Brazil, which controls the largest container terminal at the Port of Santos, known as Tecon Santos.
