Brazil's First Underwater Tunnel Comes With a Contractor's Complicated Past — Here's What to Know

AI-CONCEPTUALIZED IMAGE - São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas promotes the project for Brazil's first underwater tunnel between Santos and Guarujá, a project whose module fabrication is scheduled to begin in 2027. (Credit: Photo by Mateo Moreno)

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  Brazil's contract belongs to Mota-Engil, a Portuguese builder — China's CCCC only reaches the project through its 31% equity stake in that company, not through any deal with Brasília.

• Official crossing-time estimates have moved: federal materials promised a two-minute ride in September 2025; by the January 2026 signing, state figures had grown to "under five minutes."
• Cost estimates diverge too — Mota-Engil's own market disclosure cited roughly R$8 billion, while government communications before and since have consistently landed closer to R$6.8 billion.

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Latin America's first underwater tunnel is inching from paperwork toward pavement, and one name attached to it is a Chinese state-owned construction conglomerate. The arrangement, though, is narrower than that framing suggests.