Mota-Engil Latam has reached financial close on a major Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concession for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Santos–Guarujá Submerged Tunnel in São Paulo state, Brazil.
The project represents a total investment of approximately BRL 7.8 billion (around US$1.5 billion), with public funding of up to BRL 5.1 billion during the construction phase. This public contribution will be equally shared between the Government of the State of São Paulo and the Brazilian federal government.
Under the 30-year concession agreement, Mota-Engil will deliver Brazil’s first underwater road tunnel, providing a fixed link between the cities of Santos and Guarujá. The tunnel will have a total length of approximately 1.5km, including a 870m immersed section beneath the navigation channel serving the Port of Santos.
Once operational, the concessionaire will receive an annual fixed availability payment of BRL 436.1 million, together with estimated variable revenues totalling around BRL 2.5 billion over the 25-year operational period.
Construction is expected to take five years and will add an estimated €1.2 billion to Mota-Engil’s order backlog. The tunnel design includes three traffic lanes in each direction, a dedicated corridor for light rail vehicles (LRV), and segregated facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
The new crossing is forecast to reduce journey times between Santos and Guarujá from up to one hour to approximately five minutes, benefiting an estimated 720,000 daily users who currently rely on ferries and road detours.
Beyond improving urban mobility, the project is expected to strengthen the efficiency and competitiveness of the Port of Santos—the largest port in Latin America—while supporting regional economic development. By easing congestion and reducing reliance on ferry transport, the scheme is also expected to lower fuel consumption and emissions, contributing to wider sustainability objectives.
The concession is a flagship project under Brazil’s New PAC (Growth Acceleration Plan) and increases Mota-Engil’s total backlog in the country to around €2.2 billion. For further information please visit https://www.mota-engil.com/media/noticias/ .06/26.
