Porto, Sept. 9, 2025 (Lusa) - Mota-Engil plans to sign the contract for the concession of the tunnel between the cities of Santos and Guarujá in Brazil by the end of the year, after winning the tender last Friday, it said in a statement to the market.

In the note, published with the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM), the company confirmed that "on 5 September [Friday], through its subsidiary Mota-Engil Latam Portugal, S.A., it won the tender for the concession of the tunnel that will connect the cities of Santos and Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo in Brazil".

On Friday, Lusa reported that Mota-Engil had won the concession to build and operate the underwater tunnel between the cities for 30 years, the first of its kind in Brazil and the most expensive infrastructure project of Lula da Silva's government.

The construction company clarified today that, however, "this is only the first phase of a process leading to the award and subsequent signing of the contractual documentation, which is expected to take place by the end of this year".

Mota-Engil also said that “the concession, whose investment will amount to around 8.0 billion reais, equivalent to €1.255 billion, of which up to 5.8 billion reais will come from public contributions divided equally between the government of São Paulo and the federal government, with the rest being the responsibility of the concessionaire, will last for 30 years”.

The 1.5-kilometre-long tunnel, 870 metres of which are submerged in an ocean channel to access Brazil's largest port, will link the port city of Santos with the tourist city of Guarujá and will have lanes for cars, trucks and buses, as well as for a tram, plus space for pedestrians and cyclists.

Its construction will allow cars to reduce to just five minutes a crossing that currently takes an hour on a 43-kilometre road or 18 minutes on a ferry, not counting the time lost in queues.

ALN/ADB // ADB.

Lusa