Brazil starts public consultation for US$810mn highway concession

Brazil’s government has launched a public consultation regarding the tender notice for the concession of highway BR-262 in Minas Gerais state, known as Rota do Zebu.

The consultation will run until December 16, land transport regulator ANTT said in a press release.

The concession comprises a stretch of 438.9km and will demand investments of 4.18bn reais (US$810mn) during the 30-year contract.

The contract involves building 44km additional lanes and construction of 6km of side roads, among others works.

State officials recently presented a list of priority projects that included the BR-262 concession to the infrastructure coordinator of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's transition team, as certain concessions require federal support.

"BR-262 is a highway of unique importance in Minas Gerais, being one of the main transportation routes for the state’s production and mobility in general," the local government said in a letter to the transition team. 

BR-101 HIGHWAY

ANTT also approved the technical and legal feasibility studies regarding Eco101’s return of the concession contract for the BR-101 highway. 

The 479km road connects Espírito Santo and Bahia states.

The company, which is part of a unit of Ecorodovias, decided to return the contract as projected traffic estimation did not materialize, leading to weakened investment capacity. A slow environmental licensing process and lack of land expropriations also contributed to the decision.

The government and the company will now agree on the financial aspects of the return of the contract, which could be reoffered to the private sector at a later stage.