The Minister of Transport, Paulo Sérgio Passos, said today (21) that the public notice for the government's first railway concession, the Ferrovia de Integração do Centro-Oeste (Fico), connecting Lucas do Rio Verde (MT) and Campinorte (GO) , is already “in the fine-tuning phase” to be published. With 883 kilometers, the stretch has a forecast of R$ 5,4 billion in investments. According to the minister, the implementation of the stretch will be of great importance for the flow of grain production in the Midwest Region.
This will be the first tender for a railway section under the Logistics Investment Program (PIL), launched in August 2012. The program provides for a concession for the construction of 11 kilometers of railways in the country. “We are clear about the need to attract the private sector to invest in the sector”, said Passos. For this, he adds, an improvement in the regulatory sector is still necessary, in order to modernize and organize the system.
According to the minister, the announcement will be published "as soon as we manage to adjust and smooth all the aspects that are claimed or that may represent some kind of doubt in the private sector". The objective, he explained, is to guarantee security for the bidding process. He spoke about the notice after participating in the seminar Brasil nos Trilhos, organized by the National Association of Rail Passenger Carriers (ANPTrilhos) and the National Association of Rail Carriers (ANTF).
According to the minister, the government has identified interest from foreign groups in investing in the sector. “Only from Mato Grosso, we will have to export about 50 million tons”, said the minister. “The Chinese government has also shown great interest in becoming a partner with Brazil to make investments in the sector,” he added.
Also under the justification of having to continue dialogue with the private sector, the high-speed train (TAV or Bullet Train), which will connect Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Campinas, ended up having its schedule delayed. “We should have held a bidding process in August of last year”, said Passos, “but the government accepted the businessmen's request to extend the auction”.
According to the minister, the Brazilian Logistics Company (EPL) has been “refining the TAV route, seeking to obtain gains” for the project. “There is an innovative aspect of transportation and technology. And Brazil has a duty to work to make this a responsibility”, said the minister.
The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) decided, in February this year, to release the government to publish the railroad concession notice, provided that certain determinations were met, including the review of the cost calculation by the National Land Transport Agency (Agência Nacional de Transportes Terrestres) ( ANTT). The bidding model that will be adopted foresees that the concessionaire of the section will be dissociated from the responsible for the transport.
Source: Agency Brazil
By: Pedro Peduzzi
