São Paulo calls tender to supervise US$738mn tunnel construction

São Paulo state highway company Dersa has called a tender aimed at monitoring and supervising work to build a 1.89bn-real (US$738mn) underwater tunnel between the coastal cities of Santos and Guaruja, according to a bid notice.

Following a mandatory technical visit, proposals for the 46-month, 44.9mn-real consultancy are due on December 10. Companies and consortiums – with up to three participants – are eligible. Consortiums must be headed by a Brazilian firm.

Bidders must have experiences overseeing highway, tunnel, and dredging work. A winner will be chosen based on price and technical merit.

Companies must have at least 4.49mn reais in capital and consortiums, 5.85mn reais. Up to 20% of the work can be subcontracted, the notice said.

Spanning approximately 1,700m, the six-lane tunnel will be at a depth of about 35m.

Also planned in connection with the project are roadworks to integrate car and bus traffic and other civil works for bicycle paths and a light rail transit (LRT) system.