The São Paulo government confirmed the signing, this Wednesday (28), of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contract with the Portuguese group Mota-Engil, for the construction of the Santos-Guarujá Tunnel. 
With an estimated value of R$7 billion, The contract provides for the construction of the tunnel by 2031 and a 30-year operations concession.
The connection between the cities is currently made by ferries and a local highway, with a distance of 40 kilometers.
With the new structure, travel time drops from the current 30 minutes (ferry) to one hour (road) to around 5 minutes.
According to the government, the preliminary environmental license has already been issued by the Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (Cetesb), which certifies the viability and authorizes the advancement of the next stages.
The analysis considered aspects such as impacts on mangroves, fauna, flora, noise and expropriations, and established conditions. The region is critical, with precarious communities in part of the estuary and surrounding hills.
