Provisional Measure No. 1,154/2023 ("MP 1,154") was published in the Federal Gazette (DOU) on January 1, 2023, the first of President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva's new term in office, providing the standard organization of the agencies of the Presidency of the Republic, as well as the organization of its 37 Ministries.

Among the 37 ministries that are functional part of the Government, an important fact to highlight is that the duties of the former Ministry of Infrastructure have been divided into two new administrative bodies: the Ministry of Ports and Airports and the Ministry of Transport.

As seen in Article 41 of MP 1,154, among the duties of the Ministry of Ports and Airports are the drafting of the national policy for waterway and airline transport, merchant shipping and waterways; the participation in strategic planning in the delivery of guidelines for its implementation and in the definition of priorities for investment programs in waterway and airline transport, jointly with the Ministry of Transport; and the drafting or approval of concession plans, as set forth in specific legislation.

In the same edition of the DOU, Decree No. 11,354/2023 was published,
detailing the internal role and structures of the Ministry of Ports and Airports, and with an emphasis to its division into two Secretariats: the National Secretariat of Civil Aviation and the National Secretariat of Ports and Waterway Transport, which have the authority over, respectively, the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and the National Agency of Waterway Transport (ANTAQ). This decree was signed by the new minister, Márcio Luiz França Gomes.

The Ministry of Transport, as specifically provided by Decree No. 11,360/2023, under management of the new minister José Renan Vasconcelos Calheiros Filho, has the main role of drafting the national policy for road transport, rail transport and traffic; participating in strategic planning in the delivery of guidelines for its implementation and in the definition of priorities for investment programs in rail and road transport, jointly with the Ministry of Ports and Airports; and drafting or approving concession plans (Article 47 of the MP 1,154). Furthermore, the following entities are under the authority of the Ministry: the National Department of Land Transport Infrastructure (DNIT), the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) and Valec Public Company – Engineering Railroad Construction S.A.

Our Infrastructure and Regulatory practice and Maritime and Port practice are available for any additional information or clarification on the subject.

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