Brazil crisis sparks bargains - energy minister

Brazil's economic slowdown poses no threat to the country's power grid expansion plans and could lead to bargains for foreign investors, according to the mining and energy ministry.

In its latest 10-year energy blueprint published last month, the government forecast 73GW in new power plants, lifting overall capacity to 206GW. In addition, the transmission network is expected to grow 60% over the period.

Energy minister Eduardo Braga insisted the targets remained in place as Brazil grapples with a deepening recession and the fallout from a sprawling corruption scandal that has impacted the electric power sector.

"Despite all the challenges we are now facing in Brazil, there are some very interesting investment opportunities," Braga (pictured) told a group of investors in New York.

Brazil's economy is expected to shrink 3% in 2015, coinciding with a sharp decline in the value of the country's real currency. Last month the real plunged to an all-time low of four to one against the US dollar. Braga said the exchange rate would provide a windfall for foreign investors as costs diminish.

"Difficult times create big opportunities," he said. "Brazil's electric power sector is very big. The exchange rate has made these investments even more attractive for foreign companies.

"Brazil is a democracy that has shown itself to be robust. We have a track record of honoring contracts and the electric power sector leads the way, providing guarantees to local and international investors," Braga added.