By Brazil Stock Guide – Mota-Engil (EGL.LS) has won the auction to build Brazil’s first immersed tunnel, a project valued at R$6.8 billion ($1.2 billion), according to a report by Folha de S. Paulo. The infrastructure will connect the coastal cities of Santos and Guarujá, representing one of the flagship projects of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s renewed Growth Acceleration Program (PAC).
The company, in partnership with China’s CCCC (HKEX:1800), offered to receive an annual public payment of R$436.1 million ($78 million), undercutting the reference value of R$438.3 million ($78.5 million) by 0.5%. This discount secured victory over Spain’s Acciona (BME:ANA), which made no such concession. The 30-year concession was formalized at São Paulo’s B3 exchange.
Project details
The tunnel will consist of six prefabricated modules, each with three lanes in both directions. They will be produced in a dry dock in Guarujá, floated into position, and submerged in the estuary connecting the two cities. Construction is expected to start in 2026 and conclude by 2030.
Funding will combine R$5.14 billion ($920 million) from the federal and São Paulo state governments with R$1.66 billion ($300 million) from the concessionaire. Toll prices are set at R$6.15 ($1.10) for cars, R$3.07 ($0.55) for motorcycles, and R$18.35 ($3.30) for buses and trucks.
After the concession expires, the tunnel will be transferred to the Santos Port Authority (APS).
Leave a Reply