SP makes positive assessment of mission in Europe and predicts competitive auctions

Roadshow presented projects such as the Santos-Guarujá tunnel and the Water Crossing System to companies from the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark

The Government of São Paulo made a positive assessment of the international roadshow held in Europe to present projects from the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI-SP). After a series of meetings and technical visits in the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark, the state administration believes that the meetings exceeded expectations and consolidated investor interest in future concession auctions, such as the Santos-Guarujá submerged tunnel and the Water Crossing System.

“We have reached the end of this mission very satisfied with the interest of investors and with the contributions that will be extremely relevant to the improvement of our projects. We have noticed the positive impact that the ambitious portfolio of our partnership program has been generating and this shows that we are on the right track”, stated Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos).

The mission began on Tuesday (22), in the Netherlands. A delegation from the Federal Government led by the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, also participated in this agenda. The São Paulo delegation included the governor and state secretaries Rafael Benini (Investment Partnerships) and Lais Vita (Communications). Throughout the week, there were meetings with representatives of around ten companies from the infrastructure, logistics and transportation sectors, in addition to visits to reference operations that will serve as models for projects in the state.

Among the highlights of the program, the Government of São Paulo emphasized the technical visit to the works of the Fehmarnbelt underwater tunnel, between Denmark and Germany, which will be the largest underwater tunnel in the world. According to the state administration, getting to know this project up close was important to support the implementation of the Santos-Guarujá underwater tunnel, which is expected to require an investment of R$6 billion. The concession is scheduled to be auctioned on August 1.

State and federal authorities held a series of meetings and technical visits in the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark. Photo: Disclosure/Government of SP

The structure in Santos and Guarujá will be 1.5 km long and will be intended for vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians and will have an exclusive lane for Light Rail Vehicles (VLT). The Government of São Paulo expects to benefit around 1.2 million people daily, promoting urban integration and sustainable mobility between the two municipalities in Baixada Santista.

During their visit to Norway, the São Paulo delegation also learned about the electric vessel model, which will serve as a reference for the modernization of the Water Crossing System. According to the Government of São Paulo, the project to grant this system seeks to stimulate the decarbonization of transportation, improve the quality of service and ensure new investments in port and waterway infrastructure.

On the last day of the mission, Friday (25), the governor and state secretaries participated in meetings in Copenhagen with executives from DFDS and Maersk. DFDS, one of Europe's leading ferry operators, and Maersk, a global leader in maritime transport and supply chain management, received detailed information about the São Paulo projects.

“It was a very productive week here in Europe and we had the opportunity to discuss mobility. With the Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel, we had some interested companies, which indicates that we will have a competitive and successful auction. We also discussed the coastal crossing concession project, which aims to promote decarbonization and improve the quality of service, with investments in terminals and in the exchange of vessels. We are very excited about the results of this mission and with the opportunity to bring more investments to our state of São Paulo”, said Tarcísio de Freitas.

According to the Government of São Paulo, the European mission also helped to reinforce the credibility of the concessions and partnerships model adopted by the state. “Executives are very positive about our investment partnerships program and the results so far are very impressive. We are presenting an ongoing program, with a very high level of achievement. This really draws the attention of investors and is a sign that we will have more successful investments and auctions. We have received praise for the level of structuring of the projects, which are able to identify and mitigate risks,” added the governor.

Visit to construction sites

The visit to the Fehmarnbelt tunnel construction site, held on Saturday (26) before returning to Brazil, concluded the mission. The structure, which began construction in 2020, will be 18 km long and will connect the Danish city of Rodby to the German city of Puttgarden. Scheduled to open in 2029, the project will drastically reduce the time it takes to cross the Baltic Sea: currently, the ferry trip takes 45 minutes; with the tunnel, it will be possible to cross the distance in about seven minutes by train or ten minutes by car.

This was the third international mission of the Government of São Paulo in 2025. The previous ones took place in New York, in January, and in London, in March.