"Santa Apolónia Terminal debuts new rules for port concessions. There are nine contracts coming to an end in 2025" (with José Luís Moreira da Silva)

«“Current investments in port concessions can be very large, such as the acquisition of new gantry cranes, decarbonization of terminal operations, works on embankments and quays, not to mention any dredging,” agrees José Luís Moreira da Silva, Partner in charge of the Administrative and Public Procurement Department at SRS Legal. For the lawyer, “port concessions need to be modernized and the current contracts were of a generation that didn't foresee environmental issues or the use of new technologies. This possibility of an extension could allow for greater investment and the modernization and efficiency of our terminals.”

The SRS Legal Partner also points out that the new rules for port contracts put “Portugal on an equal footing with our main competitors, as both Spain and Morocco already allow for longer terms than those that were previously possible (30 years)”.

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Despite having enacted the change in the terms of port contracts, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that he hopes that the extension of the term “is not a palliative solution or a mere compensation for previous asymmetrical situations, but actually has the desired effect of overcoming the strategy invoked over the last decade and allows for an increase in external competitiveness”.

On this point, José Luís Moreira da Silva says that “port concession contracts are very closely monitored and regulated”. Before they are renegotiated, they go through the sieve of the AMT regulator, “then the Court of Auditors, in the regular audits it carries out, will also give its opinion, which it has done in the past”, and other authorities may also give their opinion.

“Port contracts are closely monitored and transparent, and I don't think there's any risk. If the agreed levels of investment are not met, the concession period could even be reduced, as has already happened on at least one occasion,” argues the SRS Legal Partner.»