The new stage of the Investment Program in Logistics (PIL),
launched by the Federal Government on June 9, has brought
opportunities to the infrastructure sector. With the new roadway,
railway, port and airport concessions, as well as extensions of
existing concessions, the Government foresees an injection of
approximately R$198.4 billion in domestic infrastructure.
The funds will come from the private sector, since the calculation
of the R$198.4 billion takes into account only the investments to
be made by the concessionaires in the granted infrastructure. Thus,
Dilma Rousseff's government consolidates the option for
partnerships as an efficient way to carry out essential investments
in public infrastructure.
The road sector is the one with a more aggressive timeline for the
start of the new concessions. Four lots of highways must already be
tendered in 2015, while eleven will be postponed to 2016. This
relative speed in highway concession can be attributed to the fact
that it is the most mature sector among those involved in this PIL
step. The long experience in Brazilian highway concessions leads us
to believe that even though nothing has been announced so far, the
concession model should be maintained. That is, the winner of the
bid will be the bidder submitting the lowest toll rate.
If in the road sector, the expectation is to maintain the model
already known, the concession model to be adopted by the railway
sector, which shall receive the bulk of investments, still awaits a
definition. The Government talks about adopting specific solutions
in view of the characteristics and peculiarities of each of the
railroads. In any case, it seems that the current vertical model is
discarded. In the non-vertical model, it will be up to the
concessionaires to explore the infrastructure, and to the
independent railway operators, to provide transport services.
As for the ports, as the Brazilian Federal Court of Auditors
recently approved the studies of these bids, they are expected to
occur already in 2015. The Government separated the port terminal
leases (public ports) into two blocks. Also in this segment, the
issuance of 63 permits for the implementation of private use
terminals is expected.
With regard to airports, the Federal Government began the process
for expression of interest, by which the private sector may submit
studies for modeling the next concessions handled by Infraero in
the Cities of Fortaleza, Salvador, Florianópolis, and Porto
Alegre. The deadline for expressing an intention to submit studies
ends on June 30 this year. Those who are allowed to submit studies
will have 90 days to prepare and then deliver them to ANAC for
consideration. PIL also provides for the concession of seven
regional airports in São Paulo, and one in
Goiás.
It is also expected that BNDES will continue to play an important
role in financing the federal infrastructure. In any event, the
Federal Government intends to increase the participation of capital
markets, through measures encouraging the issuance of
infrastructure debentures. Thus, the higher the percentage of
investment financed with the use of these mechanisms, the greater
the percentage of financing with BNDES, indexed by TJLP, which
means lower interest rates to investors.
In this scenario, it is expected that the new stage of the PIL and
the Government incentive measures shall create a more conducive
environment for resumption of private investments in the country's
infrastructure.
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