The first nine authorizations for the construction and operation of railways within the Pró-Trilhos program were signed this Thursday (9) by six companies and the federal government.
The program was created based on the new Legal Framework for Railways to encourage the expansion of the national railway network by the private sector, through authorization grants.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the authorized railways have the potential to add 3,500 kilometers of new tracks to the railway network, with R$50 billion in private investments.
Among the authorized companies is Ferroeste, which already acts as a concessionaire. The others are new to the sector: the cellulose company Bracell, the manager of the Alcântara Port Terminal, Grão Pará, the Macro Desenvolvimento consultancy, the port sector company Petrocity and the mining company Planalto Piauí Participações.
There are projects in São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Mato Grosso do Sul, Maranhão, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Distrito Federal, Pernambuco and Piauí.
The government has already received 36 proposals for new railroads, which correspond to more than 11,000 kilometers of new rails and add up to R$ 150 billion in planned investments, according to the ministry.
The high demand for new stretches after the change in the rules surprised the government and, according to the GO Associados consultancy, it has the potential to generate about 2.5 million jobs and an effect of R$ 342 billion in the sector’s production chain, with orders of goods, inputs and services.
The market expects some project mortality, but the Ministry of Infrastructure says it identifies robust projects in the list, generally associated with port terminals or cargo owners, such as mining and pulp companies.
The authorization for the construction of railways depends only on the analysis of the projects by ANTT (National Land Transport Agency) and on investor appetite.
Railroads authorized in Pró-Trilhos
Bracell (cellulose company)
Lençóis Paulista (SP): 4.29 km long:
- Linking the company’s factory in Lençóis Paulista to the Port of Santos (SP), the segment will transport an annual load estimated at 1 million ton of eucalyptus logs
Lençóis Paulista to Pederneiras (SP): 19.5 km long
- It will make the connection between Lençóis Paulista and the Pederneiras (SP) rail network, heading towards the Port of Santos. The objective is to transport a general cargo of pulp calculated at 1.7 million tons/year
Ferroeste (current concessionaire of the Paraná Oeste SA/Ferroeste Railroad)
Cascavel (PR) to Chapecó (SC): 286 km long
- It should take raw material, mainly corn, to animal husbandry and food production industries headquartered in the west of Santa Catarina
Maracaju to Dourados (MS): 76 km long
- It will connect Maracaju, the largest grain producer in Mato Grosso do Sul, and Dourados, where plants capable of absorbing an important part of the state’s soy and corn production are installed.
Cascavel to Foz do Iguaçu (PR): 166 km long
- Aims to consolidate an international cargo transport corridor, towards the Port of Paranaguá (PR)
Grão Pará Multimodal (manages the Alcântara Port Terminal – TPA)
Alcântara to Açailândia (MA): 520 km long
- Segment dedicated to the transport of general cargo estimated at 50 million tons/year. It connects the Alcântara Port Terminal to the municipality of Açailândia, an industrial hub that exports pig iron and has one of the largest cattle herds in Maranhão. It will have a connection with the North South Railroad (FNS) Tramo Norte and a crossing with the Carajás Railroad (EFC)
Macro Development (specialty in business management consulting)
President Kennedy (ES) to Conceição do Mato Dentro and Sete Lagoas (MG): 610 km long
- Segment connects mining regions to the ports of Espírito Santo – Porto Central, in Presidente Kennedy. It is aimed at transporting cargo estimated at 26 million tons/year: solid bulk and iron ore
Petrocity Ferrovias Ltda (originating in the ports sector – Petrocity Portos SA)
Barra de São Francisco (ES) to Brasília (DF): 1,108 km in length – Juscelino Kubitschek Railroad (EFJK)
- Aims to transport products from the Brazilian Midwest to the dry port of Barra de São Francisco (ES). The main cargoes are ornamental rocks, containerized cargoes, wood, grains, cotton, eucalyptus logs, steel products, iron ore and rock salt
Planalto Piauí Participações e Empreendimentos (mining company)
Suape (PE) to Curral Novo (PI): 717 km long
- The company intends to install an iron ore terminal on the island of Cocaia, in Suape (PE), and to transport production from its deposits located in Piauí, via Transnordestina. Thus, the railway is aimed at transporting cargo estimated at 6 million tons/year: solid bulk and iron ore
Source: Ministry of Infrastructure
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