Brazil’s National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ) has identified infrastructure problems, low investment execution and management weaknesses at five public ports reviewed as part of an inspection.
The assessment examined the authorities responsible for the ports of Fortaleza, Natal, Manaus, Recife and Rio de Janeiro and found that formal governance and planning structures have not been enough to deliver meaningful operational improvements.
According to the report, the main weaknesses involve the deterioration of physical assets and difficulties maintaining adequate conditions in port access channels.
Inspectors found problems with infrastructure such as piers and wharves, as well as draft restrictions that could undermine operational efficiency and port competitiveness.
ANTAQ Director Alber Vasconcelos, the rapporteur for the case, said in his opinion that the findings point to a challenge that goes beyond drawing up plans and policies. According to him, the difficulty lies in turning those plans into concrete action on maintenance, safety, access improvements and the commercial use of port areas.
Among the five cases reviewed, the Port of Manaus was considered the most critical by ANTAQ’s staff. Inspectors found repeated failures by the port authority to carry out its oversight duties, shortcomings in the monitoring of operators and leaseholders, accounting and reporting problems, and a lack of formal performance targets between the authority and the Amazonas state government.
ANTAQ also identified operational problems at the port, including bottlenecks in internal traffic flows and the absence of both a truck staging yard and an electronic scheduling system. According to the inspection, the Amazonas State Superintendency of Navigation, Ports and Waterways does not fully perform its responsibilities for organizing infrastructure and overseeing port operations.
At the Port of Natal, operated by Codern, the Rio Grande do Norte Dock Company, the assessment identified operational constraints related to sediment buildup, insufficient dredging and draft restrictions.
The company is also in a financial position that the agency considers concerning, with negative operating cash flows, declining revenue and the loss of its regular container service.
Given its financial condition, which ANTAQ’s technical staff described as close to insolvency, the agency recommended opening proceedings to investigate the structural problems and forwarding the findings to the Ministry of Ports and Airports.
In Fortaleza, the Ceará Dock Company has made progress in governance, planning and internal controls, but inspectors found significant maintenance problems at the Oil Pier, along with draft restrictions and bottlenecks in landside access. Conditions at the pier had already led to a notice of violation and a ban on vehicle traffic across its access bridge.
In Recife, the main problem identified was financial. The port depends on public funding and lacks sufficient resources of its own to carry out necessary maintenance and infrastructure work. ANTAQ pointed to deteriorating infrastructure and a financial deficit dating back to 2018, without sufficient structural measures having been implemented to address the situation.
The situation led ANTAQ’s technical staff to recommend that the federal government consider terminating the delegation agreement for the Port of Recife, given the port authority’s weak financial position and the condition of its infrastructure.
At PortosRio, which is responsible for the ports of Rio de Janeiro, inspectors acknowledged progress in governance, integrity and strategic planning, but found negative equity, dependence on revenue from terminal leases at the Port of Itaguaí and low investment execution.
Of the R$471 million in investments planned for 2024, only 44.7% had been carried out. In 2025, through February, execution stood at just 0.4% of the R$316 million planned. ANTAQ recommended stepping up infrastructure projects, with priority given to dredging and structural reinforcement of the Gamboa Wharf.
Nationwide Assessment
Against this backdrop, ANTAQ is proposing to expand its inspections in order to consolidate the findings at the national level and identify performance patterns, recurring bottlenecks and differences among the management models used at Brazil’s public ports.
In his opinion, Vasconcelos said a significant part of the problem lies not in a lack of planning, but in the difficulty of turning plans into execution. He also argued that the findings should be forwarded to the Ministry of Ports and Airports, since some of the weaknesses identified involve financial issues, investment capacity and management models that extend beyond ANTAQ’s jurisdiction.
Source: CNN Brasil