en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Brazilian government still plans to issue the tender notice for the Malha Oeste freight railway concession contract in August, with the project expected to generate 29 billion reais ($5.63 billion) in investment over the 57-year concession period.
The Ministry of Transport has this week published the approval document for the Malha Oeste authorization plan, a phase that allows the new railway concession to proceed. In a statement, the ministry said that after approval, the process will be transferred to the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT), and then to the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). After analysis by the competent bodies, the tender notice is expected to be published in August this year, though no specific auction date was provided.
The railway project is structured with three configuration options, initially considering a full concession to ensure operational continuity across the entire network. Malha Oeste spans approximately 1,625 kilometers, connecting the cities of Mairinque (São Paulo state) and Corumbá (Mato Grosso do Sul state), forming a strategic logistics corridor for cargo transportation in Brazil's central-west region and connections with neighboring countries such as Bolivia and Paraguay.
The structure also plans a connection to the Port of Santos and potential future integration with ports in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo via the Ferroanel (rail ring) as additional investments. Given the challenges in financing projects in this sector, the Malha Oeste contract will receive a significant injection of government funds.
Parts of the Malha Oeste route were previously held under concession by logistics company Rumo through a contract signed in 1996. In 2020, the company formally requested the government to amicably return the contract for retendering.
The Malha Oeste contract is part of the Brazilian government's plan to offer eight railway concession contracts in the coming months. Although analysts consider the plan perhaps overly ambitious and close to Brazil's October elections, the federal government believes the agenda can move forward. Transport Minister George Santoro said in a recent interview with BNamericas that the first railway concession tender (Southeast Rail Ring) should still be launched within the government's plan in June this year. The first process typically takes longer—as with highway projects—but once the first contract completes all procedures, the related processes for subsequent contracts are expected to accelerate significantly.
According to government estimates, the eight contracts planned for auction in the sector could generate 140 billion reais in direct investment. The minister stated that the federal government should introduce long-term financing from the national development bank BNDES as a mechanism to attract interest from domestic and international participants in the contracts.
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