en.Wedoany.com Reported - Brazilian infrastructure company Ecorodovias is about to commence an investment cycle of 13 billion reais (approximately $2.6 billion) related to a highway concession contract in Minas Gerais state, a move that further increases the share of the private sector in investments within this area.

Industry regulator the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) has approved the result of the concession auction for the BR-116/251 highway system in Minas Gerais (named Rota das Gerais), a stretch spanning 735 kilometers.

In March, Ecorodovias was declared the winner of the tender after submitting a 19% discount on the basic toll rate, defeating Monte Rodovias and a consortium formed by the Yvy Capital fund and Pavidez Engenharia.

The largest portion of the investment will be concentrated in the initial years of the contract, which has a 30-year term. The main works involved in the contract include the construction of 186 kilometers of dual carriageways and 160 kilometers of additional lanes. ANTT noted in a statement that these works are expected to be executed between the 3rd and 10th years of the concession.

Similar to other infrastructure sectors in Brazil, the highway industry has received record levels of investment. However, most of the funding comes from the private sector, with a series of auctions continuously underway. This situation has raised concerns among market participants, who are calling for increased public investment.

Roberto Figueiredo Guimarães, director of the Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries (ABDIB), stated: "This year, the federal government's public investment in transportation infrastructure and basic sanitation is only 20 billion reais, representing just 0.14% of GDP and 0.76% of net primary expenditure." He emphasized that, meanwhile, the government will spend over 50 times that amount on public debt interest payments this year.

Guimarães said: "Insufficient public investment leads to a decline in the Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF)/GDP ratio, which averaged 22% in the 1970s and 1980s, fell to a low average of 15% between 2016 and 2019, and now stands at 16.8% in 2025. This is far from enough. Without the private investment brought by ongoing infrastructure concession projects across the country, this ratio would be even lower."

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