The Santos-Guarujá underwater tunnel project in the state of São Paulo, Brazil has attracted the attention of four bidding groups who are assessing whether to participate in bidding for Latin America's first underwater tunnel construction project. The bidding process is scheduled to begin on August 1st. The total investment for this project is estimated to reach 6 billion Brazilian reais, with funding coming from both the federal government and the state government of São Paulo.

The bidding groups considering submitting proposals include: a bidding consortium composed of OEC (part of the Novonor group) and EGTC (a Queiroz Galvão group); another engineering bidding consortium composed of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and Portugal's Mota-Engil; and a third bidding group formed by Italy's WeBuild in partnership with Brazil's Andrade Gutierrez company. The Spanish company Acciona is also evaluating whether to participate in the project bidding.

According to Zhongjin's understanding, the project plans to construct a 1.5-kilometer-long underwater tunnel between the coastal cities of Santos and Guarujá in São Paulo, with approximately 870 meters underwater. The tunnel will have three lanes in each direction, including one lane dedicated to the passage of light rail trains (VLT), as well as pathways for pedestrians and cyclists.

In addition to the tunnel construction project, the bidding project also includes the concession rights for the navigation channel at the port of Santos, aimed at deepening the port's harbor channel and ensuring its proper management and maintenance.

Residents of Santos and Guarujá have long awaited the construction of this tunnel. It is anticipated that once the tunnel is completed, the daily number of people commuting between the two cities will reach 80,000. Currently, approximately 14,000 motor vehicles travel between Santos and Guarujá each day. Traveling by road takes about an hour, by ferry about 18 minutes, but after the tunnel is completed, the travel time for vehicles between the two cities will be reduced to under two minutes.