São Paulo state to consider climate risks in concession contracts

As the intensity of extreme weather events is rising across Brazil, São Paulo state will strengthen the consideration of climate risks in highway contracts.

Upcoming climate risk studies will influence the Nova Raposo and Rota Sorocabana highway concessions, but they must be updated for every planned project and every six months, and submitted to the state's transport regulator Artesp.

"The 552km concession that makes up the highway lots of Rota Sorocabana (460km) and Nova Raposo (92km) will have to undergo an in-depth and detailed assessment of hydrological conditions in order to implement improvements with the aim of increasing their climate resilience," a press release said.

"The hydrological study must evaluate the effectiveness of existing drainage systems, taking into account factors such as rainfall frequency, terrain slope, runoff speed and maximum flow rates. In addition, it must identify critical areas for erosion, silting and ‘gullies’, that is, the formation of large holes caused by rainwater and bad weather in soils where vegetation no longer protects the soil, which is susceptible to floods," it added.

"The state's measure is more than necessary due to the increased risks in contracts associated with extreme weather events. I would even say that this measure took too long to be adopted, but from now on, with an increase in extreme climate events in Brazil, this will be a fact to be added in all infrastructure contracts," Alberto Sogayar, an infrastructure lawyer at Sogayar e Alcântara Advogados, told BNamericas.

Brazil has seen increasingly intense floods and droughts in recent months.

The state will offer the 30-year, 8.8 billion-real (US$1.6bn) Rota Sorocabana highway concession connecting 17 localities on October 30 and the 30-year, 7.3bn-real Nova Raposo concession on November 28.