Spotlight: The US$1.1bn irrigation projects under evaluation in Brazil

Brazil's government signed the concession contract for an irrigation project involving 1.5bn reais (US$270mn) in Minas Gerais state, while evaluating the offer of another six contracts with total investments of 6.1bn reais (US$1.1bn).

Local companies Fortaleza de Santa Teresinha and RG won the contract for the Vale do Rio Jequitaí project through their Jequitaí consortium.

"The auction held in March this year guaranteed 1.5bn reais in investments for the execution of the project, which will provide irrigation, water supply and energy generation, benefiting around 150,000 people in the region, in addition to creating 84,000 direct and indirect jobs," said the mines and energy ministry in a statement.

The Jequitaí consortium won the contest with a fee of 35mn reais, and works are expected to start at the beginning of 2025.

The project involves multiple-use dams on the Jequitaí river, irrigation of areas for agricultural production, and river flow regularization.

It will supply water to up to 19 municipalities in Minas Gerais, in addition to generating other activities such as pisciculture and ecotourism.

Jequitaí is one of the seven projects included in the federal government’s investment partnership program (PPI) that will be offered to the private sector via concessions.

The other six are currently in the study phase and there are no short-term plans to hold auctions for them, a government official told BNamericas, declining to be named for this article.

BNamericas takes a look at these projects in the northeast region of the country, which has faced prolonged water shortages amid low levels of rain.

1 - Baixo Acaraú (Ceará state) 

The 93mn-real Baixo Acaraú project covers the municipalities of Acaraú, Bela Cruz and Marco, and will use water from the Acaraú river. The irrigable area is currently 12,603ha and through the concession it will be expanded by 4,164ha.

2 - Platôs de Guadalupe (Piauí) 

The project will irrigate 13,434ha by capturing water from the lake at the Boa Esperança dam, on the Parnaíba river.

The concession will include collection infrastructure, conduction channels, secondary pumping and pressurization stations, water intake and distribution systems, as well as drainage and road systems.

Capex is estimated at 1.76bn reais and the initiative is currently at the public consultation stage. 

3 - Santa Cruz do Apodi (Rio Grande do Norte) 

The 374mn-real project will use water from the Apodi river, with the catchment being downstream at the Santa Cruz dam. The perimeter has an irrigable area of 9,236ha, with 5,200ha corresponding to the first stage of the concession and 4,036ha to the second stage.

4 - Tabuleiros de São Bernardo (Maranhão) 

The 1.15bn-real project is located in the municipalities of Magalhães de Almeida and Araioses, with a long-term irrigation potential of 25,000ha. An area of 11,205ha has so far been expropriated and the aim is to expand it by 5,610ha.

5 - Tabuleiros Litorâneos (Piauí)

Located in the municipalities of Parnaíba and Buriti Lopes, the plan is to create an irrigation area of 6,017ha. 

The project’s capex is estimated at 1bn reais.  

6 - Vale do Iuiú (Bahia)

The project is located in the municipalities of Malhada and Iuiú and has estimated capex of 1.75bn reais.

Preliminary studies have shown the feasibility of irrigating a 51,700ha area.