In an auction without competition, the Integrasul Consortium won Block 3 of the Rio Grande do Sul’s state highways. The group is formed by two companies: Silva & Bertoli (of Neovia Engenharia) and Gregor Participações (Greca Asfaltos). The only bidder, the consortium offered a discount of 1.3% on the toll value.
The group will need to invest at least R$3.4 billion throughout the concession, which will last 30 years. The block of roads totals 271.5 km, which connect the mountainous region of the state to the metropolitan region of the capital, Porto Alegre. The duplication of 116.4 km of roads is planned.
This is the Integrasul consortium’s third attempt to win a highway concession in the state. The first was in 2018, in the auction of the Rodovia de Integração do Sul (RIS), won by CCR. The second took place in 2020, with the auction of the RSC-287, won by the Spanish group Sacyr. “In this third attempt, we finally managed to succeed,” said Silva & Bertoli’s technical director, Ricardo Perez.
In his speech after the victory, the executive highlighted that the companies have the capacity to execute the contract. Gregor, of the Greca Asfaltos group, has already been part of the MGO concessionaire, composed of several medium-sized construction companies, which later sold the asset to Ecorodovias.
When asked about the project’s financing, Mr. Perez stated that, in the first two years, no external resources will be necessary, and that the paid-in capital will be sufficient for the initial period. Afterwards, the plan is to seek the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and the capital market.
The group also signaled interest in disputing new highway auctions. He said they should study the other blocks being structured by Rio Grande do Sul, as well as state and federal concessions in Central-West, in states such as Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás.
In addition to Block 3, the Rio Grande do Sul government plans to hold two other highway auctions this year. The public note for Block 2, which foresees at least R$3.8 billion in construction, is expected to be published in April. Block 1, which foresees R$4 billion in investments, should be announced by the end of May, according to Leonardo Busatto, extraordinary secretary of State Partnerships.
Asked about the need to review the next projects, in view of the low bidding competition, he said that Wednesday’s result gave a positive signal to the team. “We understand that the success reinforces the importance of the auctions. It is a concession with a very high investment volume. I think it reinforces the rightness in moving forward,” he said.
The government had already predicted that the bidding would have a lower attractiveness. The strong inflation of inputs and the high interest rates in recent months reduced the return initially forecast by the economic studies. The government, however, evaluated that, even with the new scenario, the concession was still profitable and opted to go ahead with it.
For the BNDES, which structured the project, even with only one interested party, the result was a “great success”, according to Guilherme Martins, superintendent of the bank’s Investment Partnership Structuring Area. “It was a great success from different points of view: for making it feasible to attract investments of R$3.4 billion, for bringing improvements and security to the road structure in Rio Grande do Sul, which has had investments held up for decades,” he said.
Source: Valor International