Brazil speeds up offering of waterway concessions

The Brazilian government is advancing with the structuring of waterway concession contracts for the Tocantins and Madeira rivers. 

The projects have now been included in the federal government’s PPI investment partnership program.

“The Tocantins river is extremely important from a socioeconomic point of view. With the concession, it will be possible to develop a logistics infrastructure for transporting grains, iron ore, liquid bulk, containerized cargo, among other cargo," Eduardo Nery, general director of waterway regulator Antaq, said in a statement.

The Tocantins river has an extension of 1,731km from the municipality of Belém, in Pará state, to Peixe in the state of Tocantins.

Meanwhile, Antaq approved the structuring of the Madeira waterway concession and the next step is for the ports and airports ministry to give the green light for it to be offered via an auction.

The Madeira river has an extension of 1,075km and the concession will require investments worth 109 million reais (US$20mn) for dredging and other works.

The Madeira waterway will be a route for transporting grain production from the states of Mato Grosso and Rondônia, as well as for passenger transportation.

Antaq is also working to move forward with concessions for other waterways, including the Paraguay, Barra Norte and Tapajós rivers, and the Lagoa Mirim lagoon.

The government sees waterway concessions as a way to diversify the country’s highways-dominated transport matrix and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.