ANTAQ approves Regulatory Sandbox Manual and consolidates rules for the experimental environment in the waterway sector

The National Waterway Transportation Agency (“ANTAQ”) has approved the Regulatory Sandbox Manual, a document detailing the operation of the experimental regulatory environment established by ANTAQ Resolution No. 131, dated August 18, 2025. The manual is intended to provide greater predictability regarding the procedures applicable to the regulatory sandbox^[i] and to guide both regulated entities interested in participating and the public officials responsible for its implementation.

In other words, ANTAQ’s regulatory sandbox will serve as a gateway to innovation in the waterway sector: private companies may obtain temporary authorization from the agency to test, in a controlled and monitored environment, business models, techniques, and technologies that would otherwise face traditional regulatory requirements.

The manual represents a significant opportunity for companies operating in the port and waterway transportation sectors. In addition, the instrument is designed to provide an opportunity for market participants to express their views, allowing them to experiment with disruptive solutions while ANTAQ learns from the results to improve its regulatory framework.

To participate, a private legal entity, including through a consortium or partnership, must demonstrate its interest, as well as compatible technical and financial capacity. Proposals may be submitted at any time through an electronic form or in response to specific calls for proposals, providing real flexibility to entities seeking to test new solutions in the waterway sector.

Selected participants will receive temporary authorization to test a business model, technologies, or operational arrangements that do not currently fully fit within the existing regulatory framework. Such authorization will be formalized through an instrument that must include, among other elements, the scope of the experiment and the applicable safeguards, the regulatory flexibilities granted, the duration of the authorization, and the risk mitigation and discontinuation plan. Throughout the project’s implementation, participants will be subject to monitoring.

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Demarest’s Public and Regulatory Law and Infrastructure, Transport and Logistics teams remain available to provide any additional clarifications that may be required.

[i] A regulatory sandbox is a controlled environment established by regulatory agencies to allow innovative and disruptive business models to be tested under a temporary relaxation of the rules currently in force.