BNDES to structure over US$2bn in highway concessions for Minas Gerais state

Brazilian development bank BNDES and Minas Gerais state signed an agreement regarding structuring the concessions for 2,400km of highways, involving investments of nearly 11bn reais (US$2.24bn).

BNDES will evaluate the concessions for three lots in the Vetor Norte and Zona da Mata regions and in the northwest.

Based on technical studies, BNDES will contribute to the identification and allocation of risks, quality standards and tolls, and assess technical, economic and environmental feasibility.

“The project’s main objectives are the expansion and improvement of road infrastructure and logistics and transport services in Minas Gerais state, through the structuring of partnerships with the private sector,” BNDES planning and project structuring director Nelson Barbosa said in a statement.

A public hearing on the auction notice is planned for 1H24. 

In addition to structuring, "BNDES is, without a doubt, the main financing agent for infrastructure projects in Brazil and next year it will be no different," Alberto Sogayar, infrastructure lawyer and partner at Sogayar e Alcântara Advogados, told BNamericas. 

The high number of federal concession contracts will reinforce the bank's importance next year and demand participation of other financing agents, including consortiums of private sector banks but also capital market operations, according to Sogayar.

The federal government plans to offer concessions for 13 highways, involving a combined 122bn reais (US$25bn), a transport ministry spokesperson told BNamericas.