Brazil unveils details of US$1bn Rondônia highway auction

The Brazilian government revealed details of an auction for a concession for highway BR-364 in northern state Rondônia involving estimated investment of 6bn reais (US$1.07bn).

The 30-year contract was structured with the support of development bank BNDES and the auction will take place February 27, 2025, the bank said in a release.

The 687km highway links the cities of Vilhena and state capital Porto Velho and is known as Rota Agro Norte.

“The Rota Agro Norte is the main logistics corridor for transporting 11Mt of grain for shipment through the port terminals of Porto Velho and connects the main cities of Rondônia, such as Vilhena and Ji-Paraná, to the capital," Nelson Barbosa, director of planning and institutional relations at BNDES, told BNamericas.

The main works involve converting 108km into a divided highway and construction of 190km of third lanes, along with access to the new port terminals in Porto Velho.

São Paulo hospitals

São Paulo state, meanwhile, announced a plan to invest 600mn reais in the construction of two public hospitals, one in Birigui city and the other in Itapetininga.

The proceeds will come from the fees paid to the government for the concession to manage the state's lotteries. Last week, the Aposta Vencedora consortium won that auction offering a fee of 600mn reais.

“The Itapetininga hospital that exists today is no longer capable of providing care, it is a very old structure. We are going to build a new hospital, which will serve at least 13 municipalities in the region. The same thing happens in the Araçatuba region, where we will build the Birigui regional hospital. Each of the units will have more than 200 beds," São Paulo governor Tarcísio de Freitas said in a statement.