Brazilian Government Wants to Grant 16,000 km of Highways to Private Sector

By Xiu Ying

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Federal Government plans to transfer 16,000 kilometers of highways to the private sector through concessions, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, the Minister of Infrastructure, said on Monday, June 24th.

In a meeting with businesspeople in Rio de Janeiro, he said that practically the entire state road network should be granted to the private sector, including the Arco Metropolitano ring road around Rio and the Rio-Santos Highway.

Freitas said that the new Rio-Teresópolis concession would be carried out including the Arco Metropolitano, and the new Rio-Juiz de Fora concession (Highway BR-040) will include the work on the mountainous section in Petrópolis.

The minister also said that the bidding for Dutra (Highway BR-116) would include works for a new section covering the Serra das Araras mountain as a compulsory investment. The BR-116 bidding is scheduled for next year, and the winner will begin operating in 2021.

A means of charging tolls per kilometer driven on the Dutra is also under study, in an effort to add users of the highway between toll plazas to the payment base. “Increasing the payment base brings with it plenty of investment in the highway and roadworks, to lower fares,” said Minister Freitas.

The minister mentioned new highways in the government’s concession plans: interstate highways BRs 163 and 230 between Mato-Grosso and Pará; BRs 381 and 262 between Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo; and BRs 364 and 365 between Minas Gerais and Goiás.

Regarding the port area, the Government intends to privatize state-owned Docks Companies, along with maritime terminals; the first experiment will be conducted with Docas do Espírito Santo. This company was chosen for having fewer labor liabilities, fewer employees, and fewer lease contracts. “It’s a good case to start this process,” said the minister.

For railroads, the Government plans to use concession payments to help concessionaires build new railroads. The requirement should already be included in the renewal of Vale’s concession for the Carajás and Vitória-Minas railroads.

“Vale will build the Center-West Integration Railway [Mato Grosso to Goiás] for the government. It will pay for the grant through this construction. Ultimately the railroad is ours, the government’s, which will bid and demand a new grant,” said the minister, adding that the company will also build the Cariacica-Ancheita extension, in Espírito Santo, as part of the grant payment.