Brazil sets auction date to reoffer US$1.5bn highway concession

Brazilian land transport regulator ANTT approved the auction to reoffer the 8.5 billion-real (US$1.52bn) concession for the BR-262 highway in Minas Gerais state.

The auction will be held on October 31, the ANTT said in a statement. 

The original contract for the 439km road belongs to Concebra, which is a unit of infrastructure firm Triunfo. In 2020 it asked to return the concession to the government, claiming it was financially unviable at the time. Concession holders are allowed to return contracts and ANTT decides whether financial compensation should be paid. 

The main works under the new 30-year concession include widening 44.3km, building 169km of additional lanes and 3.63km of side roads, along with 10 viaducts and 17 footbridges.

Of the total investment, 4.4bn reais will go to capex and 4.1bn reais will be for opex. In addition, the contract will include an obligation for the new operator to allocate 1% of funds for climate resilience projects, a spokesperson at ANTT confirmed to BNamericas. 

The reoffer increases the number of road contracts to be offered in the second half of the year to five, involving combined investments of an estimated 45.5bn reais.

Three will be offered by the federal government and two by São Paulo state.

Federal concessions

Along with the tender for BR-262, two auctions will be held by the federal authorities in August and September.

The first will be held on August 29 for a 303km stretch of BR-381 between Belo Horizonte and Governador Valadares in Minas Gerais state. The 30-year contract comprises investments of around 9.2bn reais.

The second will be held on September 26 for the 595km Rota dos Cristais stretch of the BR-040/GO/MG highway between Belo Horizonte and Cristalina in Goiás state. The projected investment for the 30-year concession is 12bn reais.

São Paulo concessions

On October 30, the state government will auction the contract for the Rota Sorocabana concession.

The 460km road passes through 17 cities in the state and the projected investment for the 30-year concession is 8.7bn reais.

It also plans to offer the Nova Raposo concession in the second half of the year, with plans to publish the tender notice this month.

The estimated investment for the 93km stretch amounts to 7.1bn reais.