Skip to main content

Brazil infrastructure projects being privatised?

The Brazilian Government is considering increasing the number of projects being privatised in a bid to boost investment in the country. Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has suggested increasing the number of federal roads included in the privatisation programme from four to 11. The economic team has presented 20 new road stretches to be considered for inclusion in the programme. These routes will be studied in order to determine which will generate the most interest from the private sector, with six or se
May 18, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The Brazilian Government is considering increasing the number of projects being privatised in a bid to boost investment in the country. Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has suggested increasing the number of federal roads included in the privatisation programme from four to 11. The economic team has presented 20 new road stretches to be considered for inclusion in the programme. These routes will be studied in order to determine which will generate the most interest from the private sector, with six or seven to be chosen in total.

Roads in the new list include a stretch of the BR-364 between Rondonia and Mato Grosso, requiring investment of US$2.34 billion, and group of roads in Rio Grande do Sul requiring investment of $1.8 billion. The four roads already to be included in the programme require total investment of $6.12 billion. However, only the tender for the stretches between Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina and Parana is expected to be launched in 2015. The remaining three will follow in 2016. But the request to expand the privatisation programme, in addition to confirming the financing rules for the projects, has now led to the postponement of the programme being announced from May to possibly June 2015.

Additional funding sources are required for Brazil however, so that the country can continue with its much-needed infrastructure development. The Brazilian department of transport infrastructure, DNIT, has issued a report to the Auditors Court (TCU) which indicates that it faces imminent risk of being forced to suspend work on projects due to lack of funds. According to the document companies responsible for road maintenance and construction work across Brazil are currently owed over $568.94 million. The report also indicates that asphalt purchases have fallen 43% in 2015 in comparison with the first months of 2014. The report was issued in response to TCU preventing DNIT from adjusting the values paid to companies for asphalt purchases between November 2014 and January 2015, and claims that without this adjustment projects will need to be suspended. DNIT is already receiving communications from companies that have gone without payment for over 90 days which indicate that they no longer wish to continue services, putting road projects and road use at risk.

Related Content

  • Russia to commission new Moscow-St Petersburg highway by 2020
    June 20, 2017
    Final delivery of the final stretch for Russia’s key highway project looks set to be delayed – Eugene Gerden writes. I now looks as if Russia’s most ambitious project in the field of road building in recent years, the building of a new high-speed road link between Moscow and St Petersburg, the country’s largest cities, will not be complete in time. The project was set up by the Russian government and several private investors. According to initial state plans, building of the new road should have been compl
  • Golden opportunities in the MINT - Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey
    May 21, 2015
    Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey – Global Report offers up some food for thought about where smart money might be headed within the next several years – David Arminas writes China’s rate of growth may be slowing down, but other South East Asian companies are being quick to offer alternate investment opportunities, notably Indonesia. Nigeria, too, has had issues with security of investment. But there are signs that the government may be getting serious at last about tightening up rules and regulation
  • China looks to the future with major highway plans
    February 15, 2012
    China is still moving ahead with plans that will give it the world's biggest highway system. Patrick Smith reports. As China's economy grows even more, keeping the country on the move has become a priority for the government. While the country has made great strides over the past decade in improving its infrastructure, the number of vehicles has also increased rapidly, and in some instances restrictions have been placed on them.
  • Danube bridge takes shape
    February 10, 2012
    A new bridge over the River Danube between Bulgaria and Romania is expected to benefit to the economies of both nations. Krasimir Krastanov reports