São Paulo Signs $1.2B P3 for Brazil’s First Immersed Tunnel

The state of São Paulo introduced a public-private partnership with Portugal-based Mota-Engil to construct Brazil’s first immersed tunnel, launching building of a set hyperlink between the coastal cities of Santos and Guarujá and transferring a roughly $1.2 billion transportation megaproject into execution.

The Santos–Guarujá Tunnel, an 870-m underwater crossing beneath the port channel serving the Port of Santos, can be delivered below a 30-year P3 protecting design, building, operation and upkeep.

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“What was unattainable and anticipated for 100 years, we’re going to make attainable,” Rafael Benini, São Paulo’s secretary for funding partnerships, stated in an announcement following the signing. Benini stated the challenge is now transferring into design, with building scheduled to start subsequent yr.

Underneath the contract, the tunnel will carry three lanes of site visitors in every course, with a devoted walkway for pedestrians and cyclists, plus a service gallery for utilities and techniques. State officers estimate that the crossing will reduce journey time between Santos and Guarujá to lower than 5 minutes, in comparison with journeys of as much as an hour by highway or ferry, which are sometimes affected by port site visitors and climate situations.

Immersed Tunnel Methodology Concentrates Marine Development Threat

Whereas immersed tunnels are widespread in Europe and Asia, they’re comparatively uncommon in the remainder of the world in comparison with bored tunnels or bridges. That is primarily as a result of complexity of marine building, with dangers associated to dredging precision, buoyancy management throughout immersion and the tolerances wanted to make sure watertight joints.

A challenge map reveals the deliberate alignment of the Santos–Guarujá immersed tunnel and strategy roads beneath the port channel linking the cities of Santos and Guarujá, together with connections to surrounding city and port infrastructure.

Map courtesy of the Authorities of São Paulo

State planners have stated the immersed tunnel strategy was chosen to avoid navigation conflicts, top restrictions and floor disruption {that a} bridge or bored tunnel would have created inside the Port of Santos hall.

The Santos–Guarujá challenge would require intensive dredging beneath an lively transport channel, building of a dry dock for precasting huge concrete parts and tightly sequenced immersion and meeting operations coordinated with port exercise. The works can be carried out beneath the entry channel to the Port of Santos, requiring coordination with ongoing vessel site visitors and port operations throughout building.

Underneath the delivery plan outlined by the state, the tunnel can be constructed from a collection of huge reinforced-concrete parts fabricated in a purpose-built dry dock, sealed and fitted out earlier than being floated into place, sunk right into a ready trench and related underwater.

As soon as aligned, the weather can be joined utilizing watertight seals, after which the construction can be backfilled and guarded, locking in ultimate geometry earlier than inner techniques set up begins.

In contrast to bored tunnels, the place alignment corrections will be made progressively, immersed tunnel set up permits restricted alternative for adjustment as soon as immersion is underway, inserting a premium on upfront engineering, marine surveying and building sequencing.

P3 Extends Engineering Focus Into Operations

Past structural works, the challenge’s engineering scope extends into long-term operational techniques embedded inside the service gallery, together with air flow, drainage, fireplace and life-safety techniques, energy and communications infrastructure and steady structural and environmental monitoring.

A rendering depicting the ingress to the tunnel that’s supposed to ease congestion and enhance freight and commuter mobility between the 2 cities.

Rendering courtesy of Bnamericas

As a result of the PPP bundles building with three a long time of operation and upkeep, officers stated techniques can be designed for sturdiness, entry and maintainability over the concession time period.

Mota-Engil received the concession in a September 2025 public sale, providing a 0.5% low cost on the utmost annual public fee. The challenge contains roughly $971 million in public contributions, cut up evenly between the São Paulo state authorities and the federal authorities, in line with challenge paperwork.

São Paulo Gov. Tarcísio de Freitas stated the signing marks a turning level for a challenge that has stalled repeatedly over the previous century.

“The land connection between Santos and Guarujá is a dream that has been round for 100 years and is lastly turning into a actuality,” he stated in remarks launched by the state. He added that the tunnel is predicted to be accomplished and open to site visitors in 2031.

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The challenge has already obtained a preliminary environmental license from São Paulo state’s environmental company, Cetesb, and is transferring into detailed design and preparatory work. The assessment assessed impacts on mangroves, wildlife, noise and required expropriations, and units situations to be addressed throughout subsequent licensing.

The state’s published execution schedule reveals 2026 will give attention to design and associated research, with building slated to start in 2027 with web site mobilization, dry dock building and preliminary dredging.

Precasting of the tunnel’s concrete parts is deliberate for 2028, adopted by immersion and meeting in 2029. Methods set up, testing and commissioning are scheduled for 2030 forward of economic operation the next yr.

The concession additionally contains highway works in each Santos and Guarujá to combine the brand new crossing into dense city site visitors networks on both facet of the channel, with oversight by São Paulo’s transportation regulatory company, Artesp.

State officers estimate the challenge will generate about 9,000 direct and oblique jobs whereas easing congestion within the Baixada Santista area and bettering entry to port-related employment and logistics corridors.

Benini stated the subsequent quick step is to outline the concrete tunnel module fabrication web site. “The signing of the contract represents a decisive step towards remodeling this challenge into actuality, with direct positive factors for mobility, logistics and the standard of lifetime of the inhabitants,” he stated.