BRAZIL: The Brazilian Northeast Development Fund (Fundo de Desenvolvimento do Nordeste) has agreed to lend R$3∙6bn to help finance construction of the Ferrovia Transnordestina project.
The deal follows agreement by Superintendência do Desenvolvimento do Nordeste for Banco do Nordeste to sign an addendum with concessionaire Transnordestina Logística, which is controlled by national iron and steel group Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional.
The huge Y-shaped scheme entails construction of a 1 753 km route connecting Eliseu Martins in Piauí state with the ports of Pecém near Fortaleza in Ceará state and Suape near Recife in Pernambuco. Part of the Salgueiro – Pecém route will be built to mixed 1 000 mm and 1 600 mm gauge.
According to the concessionaire, 62% of construction works have been completed. Finished sections stretch from Paes Landim to Salgueiro and from there to Missão Velha and Acopiara, with construction in progress from there to Quixada on the northern branch to Pecém. The current budget for the project is R$15bn, around half of which has already been spent.
The Brazilian government is committed to completing the first phase of the project by 2027, with the whole scheme finished by 2029. The project is considered strategically important for the transport of grain, fertilisers, cement, fuel and ore, with traffic forecast at 30 million tonnes a year.
