Márcio França travels to Belgium with companies that want to privatize the Port of Santos

The Minister of Ports and Airports, Márcio França, travels to Belgium this Monday (22) for meetings with European port and airport authorities. Among the agendas, França will participate in visits to the country’s ports together with members of the Association of Private Port Terminals (ATP), which defends the privatization of the Port of Santos.

The ATP represents 30 large companies and brings together 54 private ports, responsible for handling 60% of Brazilian port cargo. The privatization process of the complex in Santos, which was underway during the Bolsonaro administration, was suspended by France shortly after he took office.

The government, however, does not have a final decision on privatization and is studying the issue. The minister’s idea is to maintain the port authority with the government and provide terminals and services to the private sector. The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), is one of the biggest defenders of privatization.

France will visit the ports of Antwerp (one of the largest in Europe), Ghent and Zeebrugges, all public. Antwerp is a partner of Brazil in the port area and has experience in the dredging area. A visit by the minister to Brussels airport is also planned.

On the five-day trip, França will also see the projects for two submerged tunnels, a model that will be used in the dry connection between Santos and Guarujá. The first visit is planned for the works on the Scheldt tunnel, which will complete the Antwerp ring road on the north side. The tunnel will have a total length of 1,800 meters. Subsequently, the Minister will visit St. Anna’s Tunnel, a tunnel under the Scheldt River, already built 31 meters deep, in Antwerp.

The entourage that will accompany France on the trip is made up of representatives of the National Fluvial Transport Agency (Antaq) and Brazilian ambassadors.

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