The Ministry of Infrastructure of Brazil has announced that the Port of Santos will not be privatized.

The privatization auction was supposed to take place by the end of 2022, but on December 13 it was suspended by the public spending watchdog TCU. TCU has asked the Brazilian government to review other Port Authority sales before proceeding to the auction phase for the Port of Santos. The Governor of São Paulo is proposing that the federal government hand over the management of the port to the private sector, while the assets would still belong to the state. After the privatization is canceled, the government will keep the existing structure of the port administration. 

The Port of Santos project involves the concession of the Port of Santos, situated on the coast of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The project will have a total investment value of BRL6.3 billion (US$1.1 billion), of which BRL2.1 billion (US$399 million) will be used for port infrastructure and BRL4.2 billion (799 million) for the construction of an underwater tunnel to connect the cities of Santos and Guaruja, the minimum auction value established by ANTAQ is BRL3 billion (US$570 million). The term of the concession is 35 years, renewable for five years.