The Government of São Paulo will receive proposals next Monday, September 1, for the execution of the Santos–Guarujá immersed tunnel project. Interested companies must submit their bids at B3 (the São Paulo Stock Exchange) at 10 a.m. The auction will take place on Friday, September 5, at 4 p.m., also at B3.
With an estimated investment of R$ 6.8 billion, the project will include up to R$ 5.1 billion in public funding, equally divided between the Government of São Paulo and the Federal Government. The 30-year contract will cover construction, operation, and maintenance. The tunnel will be 1.5 km long, including an 870-meter immersed section, built with prefabricated concrete modules installed on the seabed of the port channel — a technique already well established in European and Asian countries.
Unprecedented in Brazil, the project already has a preliminary environmental license issued by Cetesb in August 2025 and provides for the integration of different transport modes. It will feature three lanes in each direction, with one reserved for a light rail transit system (VLT), as well as a passage for pedestrians and cyclists and a service gallery. This multimodal design places the Baixada Santista region on the path toward the future of mobility, offering faster, more sustainable, and more inclusive solutions.
Currently, the connection between Santos and Guarujá is made by ferries, which take around 18 minutes per crossing but are subject to lines and operational variations. By road, the trip can take up to an hour. With the tunnel, the journey will take as little as 5 minutes, directly benefiting the more than 720,000 residents of the two municipalities and the workers who travel daily between the cities.
In addition to reducing travel time, the tunnel will boost tourism, strengthen the local economy, and contribute to reducing emissions by encouraging the use of collective and sustainable modes of transport.