Brazil advances with Fiol 2 rail tender

Brazil’s Infra SA started the process to select the winning proposal in a tender for works on a stretch of section 2 of the Oeste-Leste freight rail project (Fiol), in Bahia state.  

The budget for the works is 365mn reais (US$73mn) and the government received four proposals for the 146km section, the state-run logistics firm said in a statement without revealing the names of the firms behind the proposals. 

Of the total, 132km belongs to the line’s lot 5, from Caetité to the São Francisco river, in Bom Jesus da Lapa, which includes the assembly of tracks on a bridge. On the other side of the river, in Serra do Ramalho, works will be performed on a 13.7km stretch of lot 6.

“Fiol 2 marks the resumption of public investment in Brazil’s railways, a sector that creates jobs, reduces transport costs and generates income for the population. The State's participation in the construction of railways is essential for the works to be carried out within the highest technical standards," said Jorge Bastos, president of Infra SA.

The firm will also work on the offering of contracts for two other lots of Fiol 2, with an extension of 157km. Located between the cities of São Desidério and Correntina, in Bahia, lots 7F and 6FD will demand estimated investments of 190mn reais and the tender notice is expected to be published in the second half.

Divided into three sections, the 1,527km Fiol line will connect Ilhéus in Bahia and Barreiras in Tocantins state. 

Bahia Ferrovias, a unit of iron ore miner Bahia Mineração, which is part of Kazakhstan's Eurasian Resources Group, won the 35-year concession for section 1, which has an extension of 537km. Works worth 1.1bn reais started in July and are being carried out by the TCR-10 consortium, comprising Brazilian company Tiisa and China’s CREC-10.