BRAZIL: The Ministry of Transport, national land transport agency ANTT and the Federal Court of Accounts have signed an addendum to the agreement covering Rumo Logística’s Malha Paulista concession that provides for additional investment worth R$600m. If spending already agreed as part of Rumo’s concession is included, the total investment package is worth R$940m.
Signatories to the deal inked in early June were Minister of Transport Renan Filho, ANTT Director Guilherme Theo Rodrigues da Rocha Sampaio, CEO of Rumo Malha Paulista Pedro Palma, President of the Federal Audit Court Bruno Dantas and Minister in charge of the Office of the Comptroller-General Vinicius Marques de Carvalho.
The arrangements update the 30-year agreement signed in June 2020 that extended Rumo’s concession term from 2028 to 2058. The Paulista network comprises 1 463 km of 1 600 mm gauge route, 243 km of 1 000 mm gauge and 283 km with mixed gauge.
Changes in the updated agreement include ‘rationalisation of the modernisation of the trunk line and branches’, capacity improvement works, including yard extensions, signalling improvements and ‘changes to the branch line recovery schedule’.
Of particular significance are arrangements to eliminate level crossings in urban areas in and around São Paulo, as well as in Catanduva, Cedral, São José do Rio Preto and Mirassol, which all lie northwest of the city. The crossings will be replaced by bridges, viaducts or pedestrian walkways as necessary.
Agreement to the deal was reached by the Federal Audit Court in February this year, and ANTT has since made a further assessment that paved the way for the signing of the addendum
Rumo’s 1 989 route-km Malha Paulista is strategically important for São Paulo state, as a vital transit route to and from the port of Santos. It handles around 65 million tonnes a year, with traffic originating in or destined for the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goías, Minas Gerais and Paraná. Most of this consists of agricultural products such as corn, soya beans and sugar, as well as iron ore, oil, pulp, alcohol, manganese and containerised general cargo.
- Minister of Transport Renan Filho has signed legislation that establishes guidelines for the early extension of railway concessions and makes the process ‘more transparent’. ‘We have corrected what we thought was wrong, as it was blocking the entire process needed for advancement’, he explained.
