The R$150 billion package will be a positive part of Dilma's agenda.
The numbers are not yet finalized, but it is estimated that the new package of concessions from the federal government, discussed yesterday in a ministerial meeting, could reach R$ 150 billion, with new auctions for airports, ports, roads and railways; the airports of Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Recife and Fortaleza are expected to be included in the plan; with concessions to the private sector, the government hopes to reactivate the economy at a time when the construction sector has been severely affected by Operation Lava Jato.
247 - President Dilma Rousseff spent all of Saturday, the 25th, discussing with 13 ministers and presidents of Banco do Brasil (BB), Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF), and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) the package of concessions to private initiative that will be launched soon, as part of the government's positive agenda.
Measures could allow for an injection of R$ 150 billion in investments. The meeting, which also discussed the financing model for the projects, the feasibility of other concessions, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), was being called an "immersion meeting."
"The government has a positive agenda in the execution phase. Resources are being released to states and municipalities every day. There are works in full swing, there's the 'Minha Casa Minha Vida' program. We have challenges and commitments for the second term. There's an agenda that's being built. Of course, an unstable political situation has an impact, but this stability is being built," stated the Minister of the Secretariat of Social Communication (Secom), Edinho Silva.
The airports of Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, and Salvador should have their studies finalized this year, and the auctions are expected to take place in early 2016, considering all stages of the process: preparation of the bidding documents, public hearings and consultations, and approval by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). The airports of Recife and Fortaleza are also included in the package of concessions to private initiative.
In the case of highway concessions, for which the model has already been tested and approved in the market, the government expects four auctions to be held this year, as studies conducted by the Ministry of Transport are already well advanced. One of these highways, in Paraná (BRs-476/153/282/480), already has a project submitted by the private sector that is in the adjustment phase. The other three highways – BR-364/060, which runs from Mato Grosso to Goiás; BR-163/230, which connects Mato Grosso to Pará; and BR-364, which runs from Goiás to Minas Gerais – will have their studies completed by June and should also be auctioned in 2015. These concessions were already announced by Dilma in January. A new batch of sections to be auctioned is already being analyzed.
The North-South Railway is expected to have its extension to Estrela D'Oeste (SP) completed by June of next year. The idea is to hold this auction with a concession fee, to help the Treasury's results this year. New railways are not expected to be included in the program for now, but the idea is to discuss new models that unlock construction in the sector, for example, via PPPs. Another discussion is the early renewal of railway concessions from the 90s in exchange for immediate concession fees or conditional on investments in new lines.
The concession of access channels and dredging in three ports is also a possibility: Santos, Paranaguá, and Rio Grande. The private sector has shown great enthusiasm for these dredging auctions and has also been proposing other concession options along these lines to the government.
The following ministers participated in the meeting: Nelson Barbosa (Planning), Aloizio Mercadante (Chief of Staff), Joaquim Levy (Finance), Izabella Teixeira (Environment), Katia Abreu (Agriculture), Eduardo Braga (Mines and Energy), Antonio Carlos Rodrigues (Transport), Gilberto Occhi (National Integration), Eliseu Padilha (Civil Aviation), Edinho Araújo (Ports), Gilberto Kassab (Cities), Ricardo Berzoini (Communications), and Edinho Silva. Also participating were Miriam Belchior (president of Caixa Econômica Federal), Alexandre Abreu (president of Banco do Brasil), and Wagner Bittencourt (vice-president of BNDES).
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