Brazil to Auction Navigation Channel Concession at Paranaguá Port

Bidding at São Paulo’s B3 will define the operator for a 25-year, R$1.22 billion investment project to deepen access, boost grain exports and container traffic.

Oct 22, 2025 6:13 AM

By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil will hold a landmark auction on Wednesday (Oct. 22) for the concession of the access channel to the Port of Paranaguá (PR), in what authorities describe as the world’s first model of its kind. The winning bidder will assume services currently managed by the public port authority — including dredging, signaling, bathymetry and vessel monitoring — under a 25-year contract requiring R$ 1.22 billion (US$ 210 million) in investments during the first five years and an annual fixed fee of R$ 86 million.

The project will deepen the navigation channel from 13.5 to 15.5 meters, enabling the port to handle large container ships of up to 366 meters and bulk carriers with 120,000 tons capacity. Paranaguá currently receives about 2,600 vessels per year, mainly carrying agricultural commodities such as soybeans and animal protein. Each additional centimeter of draft represents an extra 60 tons of cargo per ship — a boost that could double the port’s export throughput once completed.

“We’re inaugurating a new concession format that gives greater predictability to operations, improving efficiency and boosting cargo movement,” said Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho. He added that the initiative will serve as a blueprint for upcoming concessions at the ports of Santos (SP), Itajaí (SC), Salvador (BA) and Rio Grande (RS).

Costa Filho said the modernization will make Paranaguá far more attractive to container and agribusiness operators, especially after three grain-handling terminals auctioned earlier this year become operational. “Paranaguá is entering a new stage, with investments that will double the port’s export capacity and open room for an additional 20 million tons of shipments a year,” he said.

Also on Wednesday, the government will auction two additional port terminals at the B3 exchange: RDJ07 in Rio de Janeiro, focused on offshore logistics support for oil and gas, requiring R$ 99.4 million in investments; and TMP in Maceió (AL), a cruise-passenger terminal aimed at strengthening tourism in Brazil’s Northeast, with expected investments of R$ 3.75 million.