With an eye on the pre-salt, SP wants concession and priority for the Southern segment of the Railroad Beltway
Valor Econômico
The Government of São Paulo defended again the priority in the construction of the Southern segment of the Railroad Beltway and it considers the feasibility of the project to be constructed by means of a concession or with a minimum participation of the public sector. The project of São Paulo foresees that the railroad follows the outline of the newly-built Southern segment of the Road Beltway, which would reduce the cost with expropriation to nearly R$ 20 million (US$ 11.8 million). The decision of the State collides with the agreement closed earlier this year with the Federal Government that a definition would be adopted after a detailed study on the possibilities of investment. That study, however, should be ready only by the end of next year. The study should be contracted by the World Bank until the end of this month, according to the General Director of the ANTT (Terrestrial Transportation National Agency), Bernardo Figueiredo, and it will bring a project of investment for all segments considered: the Northern (Campo Limpo Paulista to Engenheiro Manoel Feio), the Southern (Evangelista de Souza to Rio Grande da Serra) and the separation of the lines of MRS and of the São Paulo Metropolitan Train Company (CPTM), in downtown São Paulo.
According to the General Director of the ANTT, the study was ordered by the State Government of São Paulo, as a means to put an end to a lack of agreement on which segment has greater viability. For the ANTT, it should not be decided for the project with the lowest price, but for the most important in accordance with the local logistics. "It is not a budget, but a logistics issue. To improve connection between Rio and the interior of São Paulo, the North segment is the best. If the priority is the connection with the port of Santos, the Southern segment can help more", says Figueiredo.
The Government of São Paulo decided to resume the discussion on the Southern segment because it fits the plan of the State for the development of the region of Baixada Santista with the future exploration of the pre-salt layer. The work is mentioned as a priority in the report of the Oil and Natural Gas Special Commission (Cespeg) for the development of the region.
According to Figueiredo, the Northern segment was included in the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program) because the project was already being discussed since the Government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso. As it was included in the PAC, it is the only segment with an investment forecast, between R$ 700 million and R$ 1.1 billion (US$ 411.8 million to US$ 647.1 million), on a survey conducted by the National Development Bank (BNDES). "The Northern segment would be simpler, considering the impacts on the contracts of concession of the current companies, but the investment is high", says Figueiredo.