Brazil-Argentina set to auction international bridge concession

Brazil and Argentina jointly published a notice for a concession contract to upgrade, modernize, operate and maintain the bridge between São Borja in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state and Santo Tomé in Corrientes province, Argentina.

Offers are due January 7, 2025, and the minimum bid has been set at US$40.8mn.

The capex and opex of the contract are estimated at US$99mn.

The contract being offered covers a 15.6km section of roadway, with 1.4km of that being the bridge itself, and the remainder consisting of access roads in both countries.

"The São Borja and Santo Tomé bridge is an important logistics corridor, which was awarded 29 years ago. Today is a historic day for the relationship between Brazil and Argentina because we are launching a new bidding process for the concession – a much more modern project that will bring numerous benefits to both countries," Viviane Esse, national secretary of road transportation at the Brazilian ministry of transport said in a release.

The new concession contract will have a term of 25 years. During this period, the future concessionaire will be required to carry out a set of works to improve the technical and operational characteristics of the physical structures of the bridge. The works required include the construction of access lanes, a new area for seized vehicles, a truck yard and the installation of a new lighting system. 

The concessionaire will also be responsible for maintenance of the roadway in Brazil and Argentina. 

The notice for the concession can be seen here. 

Rio Grande do Sul dredging works

Separately, the government of Rio Grande do Sul state authorized the disbursement of 731mn reais (US$130mn) to dredge waterways.

Rio Grande do Sul's waterways were severely affected by the accumulation of sediment after floods that hit the state in April and May.

"With these funds, bathymetry and dredging services will be carried out on more than 320km of inland waterways, as well as approximately 40km of channels in the area of Rio Grande port and its access channel," the state government said in a release.