01/09/2009 14h59
Government of São Paulo prepares three new concession auctions
O Estado de S. Paulo 01/09/2009
Notwithstanding the economic crisis' making money disappear from the market, the Government of São Paulo is putting chips on the capacity of investment of the private initiative and plans to hold three concession auctions until the end of the first half of the year: for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) of 31 airports; for the construction of the Eastern stretch of the Rodoanel (road ring) highway, and for the exploration of the coast roads and the roads that lead to the coast of the State of São Paulo. In an interview to
Agência Estado, the Secretary of Transports Mauro Arce said the first public notice to be published will concern the airports. "The study has already been concluded, and we are just waiting for an already requested meeting with Anac (Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency) to present the bidding rules at a public hearing", he affirms. Five batches will be offered to the private initiative in partnership with the State. The PPP model was already presented to the managing committee and the idea is to place some of the most important airports in each lot as an attraction. Regarding the other two undertakings, however, a concession auction will be held for the exclusive management by the private sector. In the case of the east sector of the Eastern stretch of the Rodoanel (road ring) highway, the winner will be in charge even of the construction project. Due to that, it is probable that the bidding model should be different from the one used by the Government of São Paulo in the last auctions. The concession of coast roads is still under study. The idea is to offer both the roads that lead to the coast and the roads located on the coast, like the Mogi-Bertioga, Tamoios and Oswaldo Cruz roads, besides the SP-55 that goes from the BR-116 to the border with Rio de Janeiro. That road has a federal stretch, but Arce believes that getting to an agreement with the Federal Government should not be difficult. According to Arce, the financing difficulty faced by the companies should not be a hindrance to the Government's plans.
