São Paulo – Over 30 companies have expressed interest in the auction for concession of Highway SP-099 (Tamoios Highway), in the state of São Paulo. The tender is scheduled to take place in July at the latest. According to the São Paulo State Transport Agency (Artesp), from Friday (Feb 28), when the call for tender for the public-private partnership (PPP) for the Nova Tamoios (New Tamoios) was made public, until Tuesday (1st), over 30 companies have collected the documentation to bid for the tender.
The winner will carry out duplication works in the highway’s mountain stretch, renovation in the flat stretch, and manage the highway for the next 30 years. Nearly R$ 4 billion (US$ 1.76 billion) should be invested during the period. In the first five years, R$ 2.9 billion (US$ 1.2 billion) will be invested. Brazilian and foreign companies, complementary social security companies and investment funds are eligible.
According to the Artesp special projects advisor Isadora Cohen, the strong demand for information on the auction was a “pleasant surprise,” however the Artesp was already anticipating much interest in the highway’s concession. “We had realized during our road shows that there was widespread interest from the market,” Cohen told ANBA this Wednesday (2nd).
Similar to other tenders floated in the state of São Paulo, foreign companies will be eligible for the “Nova Tamoios” auction. This was the case with the Anchieta-Imigrantes system auctions, which connects the city of São Paulo and the southern coast of the state; the Anhanguera-Bandeirantes system auctions, connecting the capital to the countryside, and the auctions of the Rodoanel ring road, around the Greater Metropolitan Area of São Paulo, among others.
“From our past experiences we have ascertained that the participation [of foreign enterprises] is not significant yet,” said Cohen. According to her, however, Tamoios has a strong potential for technology usage, and requires “robust” investment. “It may attract people from overseas,” he added.
The concession provides for duplication of the mountain portion comprehended between kilometres 60.48 and 82, and the operation, maintenance and conservation of the stretch between kilometres 11.5 an d 83.4, as well as roundabouts in Caraguatatuba and São Sebastião, northern coast cities to which the traffic from the capital and the Paraíba valley flows via the highway. Duplication of the mountain stretch will span approximately 21.5 kilometres, of which 12.7 will be tunnels. The road will include the longest tunnel in Brazil, at 3.675 kilometres. The flatland stretch between kilometres 11.5 and 60.48, has been duplicated and was delivered in January this year.
The concession scheme for this project is the sponsored concession. Under this scheme, the toll charged from users will not suffice to repay the investment made by the operator. Therefore, the state will have to make annual payments so the winning company does not incur losses, and so the toll is not too high. The government of São Paulo will transfer a maximum of R$ 156.8 million per year to the winning company. The bid that demands the lowest payment from the state government will win the auction.
There will be toll booth plazas at kilometres 15.7 and 56.6 of the flatland stretch, and another one in the Caraguatatuba roundabout. The toll will be R$ 0.077 per kilometre in single-lane stretches, and R$ 0.108 in double-lane portions. It will be charged starting on the contract’s second year. Interested parties are required to provide proof of former management and operation of highways with an average daily traffic of 8,000 vehicles per hour, among other requirements.
International companies willing to bid are not required to have a Brazilian partner, and may bid solo, as long as they have a legal representative in Brazil. If they decide on having a local partner or entering into a consortium, however, the venture’s leader must be the Brazilian partner.
As per the schedule, interested parties will have 45 days as of February 28 to peruse the call for tender. On May 14th, all bidders will be required to submit envelopes containing registration documents, bid bonds, licensing documents, construction work methods, commercial proposal, and business plan. They will also need to prove their capacity to make the investment and complete the works.
The bid envelopes will only be opened once the Artesp has reviewed the other envelopes, which should take place in June and July this year, after which the winner should be announced. The signing of the concession contract is scheduled for September, and works should start in the last two months of 2014.
For additional information go to: http://www.artesp.sp.gov.br/rodovias-ppp-nova-tamoios.html.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
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