São Paulo state plans metro line expansion

São Paulo state unveiled a plan to extend metro line No. 6, which is Latin America’s largest construction project in terms of investments.

The original project, with an investment of 15bn reais (US$3bn), comprises an extension of 15.3km and 15 stations. Works have reached 39.1% progress via a PPP contract with consortium Linha Universidade, which is made up of Acciona, Société Générale and  STOA Infra & Energy.

The state is now planning to add 5km and six stations but has not yet decided how to modify the construction contract, a state government spokesperson confirmed with BNamericas.

The project is highly complex in terms of engineering and construction as it passes under neighborhoods in the largest metropolitan area of the country with a large number of residential and commercial buildings. 

The project’s progress has been marked by several problems and delays. Acciona reached an agreement with the Move São Paulo consortium to take over the PPP contract in 2020. Firms that were part of Move São Paulo, including Odebrecht Transport, Queiroz Galvão and UTC, came under scrutiny in 2016 through the Lava Jato corruption scandal and began facing financial problems, which saw them abandon the project and works being halted.

When concluded, the line is expected to serve around 630,000 passengers per day.