Bolsonaro govt to inherit US$1.6bn in concessions

Brazil's President Michel Temer set the dates for the tenders of three airport concession blocks, four port terminals and one section of the Norte-Sul railway. The tenders are expected to generate 6.4bn reais (US$1.6bn) in investments and will be carried out by the Jair Bolsonaro administration, which takes office on January 1.

While full details will appear only on Friday in the official gazette, local daily O Globo reported that the auctions will take place between March 15 and 28.

The first auction would be for airport blocks on March 15. According to the website of the country's investment program PPI, this auction includes the Northeast block (Recife, Maceió, João Pessoa, Campina Grande, Aracaju and Juazeiro do Norte airports) for 2.2bn reais, the Center-West block (Cuiabá, Sinop, Rondonópolis and Alta Floresta) for 770mn reais, and the Southeast block (Vitória and Macaé) for 591mn reais.

Ports will reportedly be auctioned on March 22, with the tender entailing three terminals at Cabedelo (Paraíba state) and one at Vitória (São Paulo), both demanding a 199mn-real investment.

Lastly, the government will tender a 1,537km stretch of the Norte-Sul railway on March 28. This 2.7bn-real project entails connecting Porto Nacional (Tocantins) with Estrela D'Oeste (São Paulo). The auction will include a 30-year concession.

Temer added that a 682km railway stretch connecting Ouro Verde (Goias) and Estrela D'Oeste is 96.5% complete.