Minas Gerais to demand EPR speed up highway investments

Brazil’s Minas Gerais state will demand that the concessionaire that operates 627km of highways under the Triângulo Mineiro contract speed up investments.

The EPR consortium is formed by infrastructure group Equipav and fund manager Perfin and won the contract in an auction in 2022.

Deputy governor Mateus Simões de Almeida requested a meeting with representatives of the consortium to obtain information on the state of the highways and the company's action plan to speed up road improvement works.

"The request [for the meeting] was motivated by recent complaints about the condition of the highways and is aimed at improving safety and comfort for Minas Gerais citizens. The concession contract was signed by the company in November 2022 and is valid for 30 years. The consortium is responsible for sections BR-365 between Uberlândia and Patrocínio and BR-452 between Uberlândia and Araxá, among others," the state government said in a release.

The concession contract involves planned investments of 3.2bn reais (US$615mn) to add more lanes and shoulders. Another 2.6bn reais should be invested in operations, according to the government.

EPR operates 2,100km of highways through the Triângulo Mineiro, Sul de Minas and Varginha-Furnas concessions, all in Minas Gerais.