On the docks of the Port of Santos, the largest port complex in Latin America, cranes stack containers without pause while ships wait their turn to berth, and it is easy to see why the federal government chose the ports as the showcase of its infrastructure plans. The Ministry of Ports and Airports presented on Thursday (8) a portfolio of projects and investments worth around R$ 160 billion (roughly US$ 30 billion) planned for 2027 to 2030, combining new auctions, concessions, authorizations for private terminals and public works, according to reports by Folha de S.Paulo, in a Reuters dispatch, and CNN Brasil.
Ports hold the biggest projects
For the port sector, the plan foresees 34 auctions, with estimated investments of R$ 20.6 billion, plus 70 authorizations for private ventures, such as private-use terminals, cargo transshipment stations and tourism facilities, expected to bring in R$ 33.1 billion. The flagship project is the auction of Tecon 10, a container terminal at the Port of Santos, budgeted at R$ 6.45 billion. The portfolio also includes the SSB01 terminal in Sao Sebastiao (SP), at R$ 3.84 billion, ITJ01 in Itajai (SC), at R$ 2.66 billion, VDC10 in Vila do Conde (PA), at R$ 1.93 billion, and IQI15 in Itaqui (MA), at R$ 1.22 billion.
The ministry also plans 18 public port works worth R$ 2.15 billion, including the modernization of breakwaters at the ports of Recife (PE) and Natal (RN), the completion of the Moegao rail unloading complex at the Port of Paranagua (PR), and the upgrade of road access to the Port of Santana (AP), as detailed by CNN Brasil. Regionally, the Southeast concentrates R$ 14.64 billion of the planned total, followed by the South with R$ 7.33 billion, the North with R$ 6.78 billion and the Northeast with R$ 4.3 billion.
Waterways, regional aviation and the Merchant Marine Fund
The package allocates R$ 7.6 billion to waterway works over the next four years, including R$ 964 million to expand the Manaus river terminal under the Manaus Moderna program, along with maintenance dredging, lock modernization and the removal of the Pedral do Lourenco rock formation. The largest figure in the portfolio, however, is the forecast of R$ 95 billion in priority financing from the Fundo da Marinha Mercante, a federal fund that finances the shipbuilding industry: R$ 60 billion for naval projects and R$ 35 billion for port infrastructure, according to the ministry.
In aviation, the portfolio contains no new airport concession projects. The focus is on regional aviation: works, studies and projects at 59 regional airports, totaling around R$ 2 billion, plus a renegotiation of the Viracopos airport contract in Campinas (SP), with R$ 1.5 billion planned, and the inclusion of ten airports in the renegotiated Brasilia airport concession, with R$ 857.8 million in investments. Economic activities on airport land, such as logistics centers, hotels and commercial ventures, add another R$ 6.07 billion in approved investments.
The presentation took place at the closing of the Brasil Export 2026 National Forum, in the final stretch of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's current term, and the ministry argues the portfolio continues the work of recent years: between 2023 and 2026, 29 port auctions were held, with R$ 15.68 billion in investments, the ministry said.
"These are investments to expand the capacity of our ports, strengthen regional aviation and improve transport on the waterways, with planning for the coming years", said Ports and Airports Minister Tome Franca, according to CNN Brasil.
Back on the docks of Santos, the cranes will keep their rhythm either way, unloading and stacking containers while the tender notices mature on paper. The difference, if the portfolio moves beyond planning, is that by 2030 many of those ships may berth at larger terminals, with renovated yards and more navigable waterways shortening the road between Brazil's interior and the sea.