The Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, was surprised by the position of the Civic House of defending that the auction of Tecon10, the major terminal in the port of Santos, should have free participation from competitors. This situation caused discomfort behind the scenes.
The minister’s interlocutors told Panel SA that they were surprised by the report issued by Bound People linked to the Civil Council and the Federal Court of Audit (TCU) said that holding the contest in one round was the best alternative from the point of view of advisors to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva himself.
Costa Filho’s surprise comes because, in a letter sent in September to Minister Antonio Anastasia, rapporteur on the matter at TCU, the Ministry of Ports and Airports committed to fully complying with the decisions and recommendations issued by the plenary session of the Court.
The minister has previously publicly expressed interest in holding the auction in two stages, to prevent giant shipowners already operating at the terminal, such as Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, from participating in the auction initially. They will only enter the second phase if there are no parties involved in the first phase.
This demonstration is consistent with what was defended by the “ANTAQ” company (the National Water Transport Agency), which says that the auction in this way avoids market concentration in the port.
Anastasia, the subject rapporteur at TCU, supports holding the auction in one stage, with free competition. However, Costa Filho committed to following the decision of the plenary session.
However, Anastasia’s vote has been unsuccessful so far: there are three votes in favor of the auction and restrictions against it. In other words, the Court is creating a positive understanding of the vision of the Minister of Ports and Airports.
Current link: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access seven free accesses from any link per day. Just click on the blue letter F below.