Concessionaire Must Explain Rio Bridge Toll Hike

Brazilian highway concessionaire Concessionaria Ponte has 72 hours to explain to Brazil's Public Ministry its decision to increase tolls on the Rio-Niteroi bridge by 18%, to 2 reais from 1.81 reais, according to Rio de Janeiro newspaper O Globo. The Public Ministry has filed an injunction to stop the increase and expects a decision within 30 days. It has also demanded the company deposit 0.19 reais per vehicle - equivalent to the increase in the fee - into an escrow fund until a legal decision is handed down. Concessionaires can only raise prices in accordance with the concession contracts, and it is illegal for them to pass the costs of work undertaken on to users, said Marcelo Buhatem, the Public Ministry's prosecutor in Niteroi.