Almost ten years after the start of works on the Transnordestina railroad, the federal government and the project's owners are now butting heads over the railroad's delivery schedule, which should have been operating since 2010. While Transnordestina Logística SA (TLSA) guarantees to have With two sections of the railroad in Pernambuco completed, the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) informs that there is still a lot of work to be done.
On January 22, the deadline for completing a 163 km stretch between the municipalities of Salgueiro (PE) and Trindade (PE) expired. This is the third delivery foreseen in the concession contract, which was only signed in January 2014, after a renegotiation that took the railroad costs from R$ 4,5 billion to R$ 7,5 billion.
The document provides for a warning for non-compliance with the delivery of smaller batches and a fine for when longer stretches are not delivered.
According to ANTT, so far no deadline has been met by TLSA. “During the inspections in February 2015, the ANTT technical team found in the field that both the SalgueiroMissão Velha stretch and the TrindadeSalgueiro stretch were not fully completed, with the implementation of road adaptation works, drainage elements, environmental protection, among others”, informed the agency.
Before applying the fines, however, ANTT will open an administrative process to officially investigate the breach of the concession contract, through which TLSA will be able to present its defense.
Controlled by Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), owned by businessman Benjamin Steinbruch, the concessionaire came to be commanded last month by former Minister of Finance and National Integration Ciro Gomes. Sought by Valor, he did not respond until the close of the edition. In a note, TLSA reiterated that the aforementioned stretches are completed, “only maintenance services remain”.
The company also informed that the works are proceeding “at an accelerated pace”, with more than 6 thousand workers and about 1 thousand large pieces of equipment in operation. According to TLSA, 45% of the total works have been completed and more than 520 kilometers of tracks have been laid. The Transnordestina project foresees 1.750 km connecting the municipality of Eliseu Martins (PI) to the ports of Suape (PE) and Pecém (CE).
Financial and operational problems delayed the start of operation of the railroad for years, presented as a fundamental corridor for the flow of ore, fuel and grains from the interior of the Northeast. In the last two years, however, the works advanced only 5%.
Source: Valor Econômico
By Murillo Camarotto
