Government auctioned Thursday 1.5 thousand km stretch of the North-South Railway
Excerpt has 1,537 kilometers and connects Porto Nacional (TO) to Estrela d’Oeste (SP); investment is R $ 2.7 billion. This is the first government railroad auction in over ten years.
The federal government will auction on Thursday (28) a stretch of 1,537 kilometers of the North-South Railroad that connects Porto Nacional (TO) to Estrela d’Oeste (SP). The auction is scheduled for 3:00 pm at the B3 headquarters in São Paulo.
This is the first government railroad auction in over ten years. The last railway concession took place in 2007, when VLI won the railroad concession that links Porto Nacional to Açailândia (MA).
The railroad is classified as one of the main projects for the flow of the agricultural production of the country, and the estimation is that the investments arrive at R $ 2,724 billion.
The auction will be the one who offers the highest amount to be paid to the Union. The minimum bid set forth in the bidding notice is R $ 1.35 billion. The term of the contract is 30 years.
Questioning
The right of the winner of the auction to access the rails of another company is the main point of criticism of the announcement of the North-South Railroad.
The public prosecutor at the Federal Court of Audit, Júlio Marcelo, even asked to suspend the auction.
In the request, Marcelo argued that clear rules on right of way are missing, which, he said, undermines competition and directs the auction.
The stretch to be auctioned is linked to two railroads already granted.
On the north side, the stretch is connected to the North Section of the North-South Railway, which belongs to VLI and the Carajás Railroad.
In the southern part, the stretch is connected to the Malha Paulista railroad, which belongs to Rumo, and that arrives at the Port of Santos, in São Paulo.
Without going through one of these two railways, the stretch that will be granted can not access any of the ports.
The expectation is that VLI and Rumo are the only ones to compete in the auction. Russian state-owned RZD, which has repeatedly said it had an interest in the railway, decided not to participate in the dispute.
“In a note, the Ministry of Infrastructure has announced that it has signed a commitment with the Federal Public Ministry to” issue guidelines for public policies that ensure proper regulation of the sharing of railway infrastructure , with clear actions, aiming at expanding the rail way in the country’s transportation matrix, “said prosecutor Júlio Marcelo.
Source: G1
