Brazil plans public hearings on highway concessions

Brazil’s land transport regulator ANTT is scheduling public hearings on tender notices for highway concessions, which experts interpret as a sign of continuity.

"We see a movement pointing to the continuity of the highway concessions agenda in the coming years instead of changes to the model," Camila Affonso, a partner at infrastructure consultancy Leggio Consultoria, told BNamericas. 

"This trend of continuity is explained both by the need of the government to attract investments for highway maintenance, and by the fact that the sector has a multiplicity of agents, including local governments, which limits [potential for] major change, even if some in the federal government wanted [such change]," added Affonso.

ANTT plans a public hearing on the 30-year concession for the BR-116/158/290/392 highways in Rio Grande do Sul state between December 30 and January 31, and one between January 2 and February 16 regarding the BR-153/262 highways, stretching 531km between Goiás and Minas Gerais, according to a statement.

Advisers to president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who will assume office January 1, said the administration will review privatization processes and concessions in areas such as ports and airports, but highway concessions are unlikely to be affected.