Panel SA: Auctions test feasibility of new sanitation legal framework in December

By validating the new legal framework for basic sanitation this week, the Supreme Court removed a major source of legal uncertainty from investors in the sector and paved the way for the viability of the new model for contracting services to be tested in different regions of the country. .

Of the six auctions scheduled to take place before the end of the year, two arouse special attention from companies, those offering blocks of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro and Alagoas.

There was a lot of competition at the first auction in Alagoas last year, for the concession of services in 13 municipalities in the metropolitan region of Maceió. This time, two blocks made up of poorer cities in the interior of the state will be at play.

“The main resistances were removed and now the new model needs to gain traction”, says Percy Soares Neto, executive director of Abcon, which represents the private concessionaires. According to him, 80 municipalities are getting ready to launch similar projects.

Businessmen in the sector are also betting on speeding up the privatization process of Corsan, a state company in Rio Grande do Sul. The state Legislative Assembly approved the sale of the company, but the auction model and date still need to be defined.

with Ricardo Balthazar (interim), Andressa Motter e Ana Paula Branco