The Brazilian government wants to attract Russia to invest in the Brazilian railroad auctions that will open next year. President Vladimir Putin's visit will be the moment for the consolidation of a memorandum of understanding for preferential treatment of investments between the two countries, which would open the doors of Brazilian bids for RZD International, operator of the Russian railway system.
The difficulties faced by Brazil in attracting domestic private investment to railways are behind the active search by companies of partners in the Brics (a bloc that, in addition to Brazil, includes Russia, India, China and South Africa). China has also shown interest in this market. RZD Internacional stands out for its expertise in cargo transportation and the operation of long-distance railways.
“The potential of our trade with Russia is enormous, including the defense phase. They have shown interest in the railroad program, which has really started to work. We can have a protocol of understanding of preferential investment treatment, there will be a dialogue. We will present what we have ahead of us and that's it”, said the Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Mauro Borges.
The biggest difficulty would be funding for foreign investment, as the company focuses on its own territory and on some expansion to Asian countries. In previous negotiations, company executives were willing to participate in the bids, but asked for the participation of a local partner, familiar with Brazilian legislation, to facilitate its entry into this market in Brazil.
Bank. Financing, in turn, can be facilitated with the creation of the Banco dos Brics, which should be finalized next week, during the group's Summit, in Fortaleza.
The Brazilian government is talking about auctions for the Brazilian railway network as one of the possible initial projects to be financed by the bank, with the ease of being approved because it would benefit, at the same time, two of the members, Russia and Brazil.
As the five members will contribute with equal shares in the bank's capital, the decision on which projects will be financed will have to follow technical and political norms. Among them, the interest of the financing countries and the economic importance, in addition to sustainable development criteria – criteria in which sources heard by the State believe that the proposal fits.
The first tender for the construction of a section of the country's railway network could already have been held. The railway between Lucas do Rio Verde (MT) and Uruaçu (GO) has the public notice ready and released by the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU), but it did not go to the streets because the government is still trying to solve the problem of lack of private sector interest.
Attracting foreign companies would be a way to guarantee the success of the auctions. So far, in addition to the Russians, Chinese, Australians and Spaniards have shown interest.
Source: The State of S. Paulo
