The Santos Port Authority (APS) has officially authorized Banco do Brasil to create an exclusive escrow account for the Santos-Guarujá tunnel project. The measure complies with a directive from the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) and aims to ensure that federal public funds allocated to the work remain protected and exclusively tied to the undertaking.
The so-called escrow account, also known as a guarantee account, functions as a segregated and temporary bank account used to hold funds until all contractually agreed conditions are met. The mechanism is widely used in major infrastructure projects to ensure legal certainty, transparency and financial traceability.
According to APS president Anderson Pomini, the initiative strengthens the governance of public resources allocated to the dry link between Santos and Guarujá.
"This initiative aims to ensure transparency and proper governance of the funds earmarked for construction of the dry link. With this decision, the public investment is duly protected for specific use in port infrastructure works," he stated.
The process of fund allocation will follow strict guidelines for asset segregation and traceability required by oversight bodies. According to APS, the funds will remain tied to the port authority but will be unavailable for any purpose other than the tunnel project.
The financial structure was defined within the sponsored concession model for the future work, considered one of the most anticipated projects in the Baixada Santista region and strategic for mobility and logistics at Santos Port.
Pomini further highlighted that the segregated account represents a decisive step to ensure financial predictability and institutional confidence in the project.
"We are taking a decisive and secure step to ensure the Santos-Guarujá tunnel schedule is met with complete public financial responsibility," he declared.
In addition to account authorization, APS has also requested that Banco do Brasil formally notify Artesp of the fund freeze, a procedure deemed essential for the disbursement flow provided for in the public-private partnership contract.
With the account now active, the project advances to the next stages of technical and financial execution. The next step will be the creation, between the Union and the Government of the State of São Paulo, of a joint accountability instrument as required by the TCU.
