Brazil disburses US$630mn for works on Transnordestina railroad

The federal development agency for Brazil’s northeast region, Sudene, authorized the release of 3.6bn reais (US$632mn) in financing for the construction of the Transnordestina freight railroad.

The money will be provided by state-run Banco do Nordeste via the northeast development fund (FDNE) to the firm responsible for the project, Transnordestina Logística (TLSA), which is controlled by Brazilian steel group CSN.

"The railroad is one of the largest infrastructure projects currently underway in the country. Since the start of its construction, 7.5bn reais has been invested, with 3.8bn reais coming from the FDNE and another 7bn reais will be required for its completion, according to information provided by the concessionaire TLSA," Sudene said in a statement.

"In addition to the FDNE, TLSA will contribute 2bn reais of its own funds for the completion of the railroad works and will seek 1.5bn from other sources, according to information provided by the concessionaire. The disbursement schedule for the FDNE is 1bn reais annually from 2024 to 2026, with an additional 600mn reais in 2027," it added.

The railroad is expected to be concluded in 2027.

Of the total 1,206km of rail lines that make up the system, 673km have been completed. It consists of a main line that runs from Eliseu Martins in Piauí to Salgueiro in Pernambuco state, with branch lines leading to Pecém port in Ceará and Suape port in Pernambuco.