BRAZIL: Following a series of technical site visits in November representatives of national land transportation agency ANTT announced that they expected the Ferrovia de Integraçao Centro-Oeste (Central West Integration Railway) project to be 32% complete by the end of 2024.
The team headed by ANTT Director General Rafael Vitale was accompanied by representatives from the Ministry of Transport, contractor Infra SA, the Investment Partnership Programme of the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic, the Federal Court of Auditors, construction concessionaire Vale and the National Association of Railway Shippers.
Progress with the 383 km scheme had reached 29∙78% in October, a significant advance on the 9∙87% recorded a year earlier. Site visits to evaluate progress were made to the Uruaçu, Mara Rosa, Nova Crixás and Cocalinho areas and to a bridge over the Crixás Açu river.
The initial phase, termed FIOLI, connects Água Boa in Mato Grosso state with Mara Rosa in Goiás, where it will connect with the Jaraguá – Figueirópolis section of Ferrovia Norte Sul. At Figueirópolis there will be a connection with the Ferrovia de Integracão Oeste-Leste, project, which will eventually provide a direct route to the South Atlantic port of Ilhéus.
Before then, agricultural traffic generated in the Araguaia valley along the route of FIOLI will travel over Ferrovia Norte Sul to reach the ports of Santos to the south and São Luis to the north. The project will promote ‘a true logistical revolution, essential to boost the economy’, said Rafael Vitale.
Land has been expropriated and released along 244 km of the route, with negotiations in progress for release of a further 278 sites. Compensation deals are being agreed with landowners, allowing the project to ‘move forward with legal certainty and transparency’, according to ANTT. Surveying and construction teams have identified 33 archaeological sites, 23 of which have been secured to preserve historical heritage.
So far around 8 000 tonnes of rail have been delivered to the worksites, where more than 6 000 workers are pushing the head of steel along the alignment.
ANTT expects to receive certification and authorisation for the remaining work packages by the end of 2025. In a statement released after the visit ANTT drew attention to the project’s environmental and sustainability credentials, which include implementing 23 socio-environmental programmes.
The first phase of the FICO project is due for completion by April 2028. Later phases are planned to extend the line westward towards Lucas do Rio Verde and Vilhena.
