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

  • Brazil: Dnit proposes suspending 61 projects due to lack of funds
    May 9, 2016
    Brazil's national department of transport infrastructure, Dnit, has approved a proposal to suspend work on 29 road projects across 12 states. The approval comes after severe budget cuts this year and the number of affected works could increase to 61. Dnit noted, however, that no work will be immediately stopped and that current contracts will be maintained. The proposal will now go before the Ministry of Transport and Planning and the Office of the Chief of Staff before it can receive final approva
  • Modified asphalt trials in Brazil
    October 17, 2012
    An urgent need to improve and extend its road network means that Brazil is open to innovation and new ideas - the timing looks good for Kraton and its highly modified asphalt. Kristina Smith reports On 15th August Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff announced a US$66 billion (BRL 133 billion) investment package for the country’s road and rail networks. Of that, $21 billion (BRL 42 billion) is earmarked for the upgrade or construction of 7,500km of highways through a series of concessions. “We’re starting an
  • JCB feel Brazil-liant after landing US$96.4mn tender
    May 15, 2012
    JCB has won one of the biggest single tenders in its history with an order for more than 1,000 machines worth over US$96.4million from the Brazilian Government. The UK-headquartered company beat off competition from other major global manufacturers to secure the deal for the fleet of backhoe loaders, which will be used to improve the road infrastructure in the country. The first 114 of the 1,016 backhoes have now been delivered and the keys to one of the first machines handed over by Brazilian President Dil
  • Brazil’s roads budget faces cuts
    May 14, 2019
    A series of major road projects in Brazil have had their budgets cut. Construction works for 56 motorway projects have seen budgets cut, and in some instances removed altogether. The Brazilian national department for transport infrastructure (Dnit) had a previous budget of US$1.59 billion for road development projects. This has now been cut to $1.04 billion, less than 33% of the budget for 2014. Projects to have been hit include widening the BR-316 in Piau State, widening the BR-364 in Rondonia State, build