The South Korean container shipping company HMM – currently ranked No. 8 globally – has expressed interest in bidding for the new Tecon 10 mega terminal in the Brazilian port of Santos.
An HMM spokesperson told HANSA that this move is part of the company’s broader strategy to invest a total of 4.2 trillion won (equivalent to 3.04 billion euros) by 2030. Won (equivalent to 3.04 billion dollars) to secure terminal assets.
In June, the Brazilian government auctioned off the 25-year concession for the Tecon 10 project. To ensure a level playing field, shipping companies that already operate terminals in Santos, the largest port in South America, were barred from the first round of the Tecon 10 tender. These liner shipping companies can only participate in a second round if no eligible bidder is selected in the first round.
Maersk’s complaint dismissed
A legal complaint from Maersk, challenging the restriction was dismissed in July, paving the way for HMM and other interested parties to participate, especially since MSC and CMA CGM, the world’s largest and third largest shipping lines, already operate terminals in Santos and are currently excluded from this initial round.
Terminal operators are expected to invest nearly $1 billion over the course of the 25-year concession. This includes work on both the leased and public areas of the port, including the dredging waters around Tecon 10.
The mega-terminal is scheduled to begin operations in 2027. With a planned annual handling capacity of 3.5 million TEU, the Brazilian authorities want to increase Santos’ container capacity by 50% with the terminal. The Santos Port Authority aims to finalize the biding process by December.
In June, HMM, which co-operates a terminal in the Spanish port of Algeciras together with CMA CGM, confirmed plans to develop the first phase of the southern site of the facility. The first phase of the terminal expansion is expected to be completed by 2028, with an annual throughput of 2.1 million TEU.
A second expansion phase will boost that figure to 2.8 million TEU per year. The total investment amounts to € 150 million, with HMM contributing € 35 million. The remaining capital will be raised through external loans from CMA CGM.
HMM’s interest in Tecon 10 aemerged after the shipping company abandoned its attempt to acquire bulkers, oil tankers and liquefied natural gas carriers from SK Shipping, also of South Korea, in order to reduce its over-reliance on container shipping.
In February, Hahn & Co, the private equity owner of SK Shipping, selected HMM as its preferred bidder. The proposed acquisition excluded SK Shipping’s LNG carriers as HMM is currently prohibited from restarting its LNG transportation business. This restriction follows the 2014 sale of its own LNG carrier fleet to another South Korean private equity firm IMM.
