Brazil extends deadline to prepare 1,500km Norte-Sul railway concession

Brazil's national ground transport agency ANTT has extended the deadline for a public consultancy phase to prepare an international tender for the concession to operate the upcoming Norte-Sul railway, spanning some 1,500km between northern Tocantins and southeastern São Paulo states.

Previously scheduled for March 5, final questions and comments can now be made until March 14, ANTT said in a release.

Interested parties were allowed to comment on the project during three public hearings in February. The first, on February 20, was in Tocantins state capital Palmas. The other two were in the cities of Fernandópolis (São Paulo state) and Anápolis (Goiás state). They were scheduled on February 25 and 27, respectively.

NORTE-SUL RAILWAY

Running between the cities of Porto Nacional in Tocantins and Estrela D'Oeste in São Paulo, the railway - also known as FNS - will pass through a total of 54 cities and towns, the release said.

The contract involves installing signaling, communication and power systems, as well as managing the route for 35 years. Some 720mn reais (US$306mn) in investment is expected in the first two years, but the necessary investments over the remaining 33 years have not yet been determined.

As the stretch is currently being built by federal rail company Valec, the contract does not involve building the actual railroad.

Overall, FNS is currently more than 4,000km long between Pará state capital Belém in the north and the city of Rio Grande in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul.