en.Wedoany.com Reported - The government of Rondônia State, Brazil, is advancing a regional sanitation concession auction, aiming to attract 4.2 billion reais in investment for universal sanitation coverage. This move comes amid a general lack of interest from the private sector in several recent large-scale sanitation tenders.

The tender notice sets the bidding date for September 29, coinciding with the eve of state and federal government elections. This bidding process adopts a comprehensive evaluation criterion, considering both the highest discount on tariffs and the highest concession fee payable to the government. According to the rules, bidders can offer a discount of up to 20% on the maximum tariff set in the tender notice. In the event of a tie, the evaluation will determine the final winner based on the highest value of the fixed concession fee; this fixed fee is set at a minimum of 567.7 million reais in the tender notice, and all bids must include this amount, regardless of whether the tariff discount reaches 20%.

The concession contract has a term of 35 years, with total projected revenue of 8.5 billion reais (based on the baseline date of April 2025). The concession area covers 40 municipalities, including the state capital, Porto Velho, which is considered crucial for ensuring the economic and financial viability of the contract. Over the past few years, there have been long-standing disagreements between the state government and the city regarding its participation in this regional project, as Porto Velho initially planned to proceed with its own municipal concession auction.