The Ministry of Transportation published in the DOU (Official Gazette of the Union) this Wednesday (17) the opening of the bidding process for the hiring of an auditing company that will analyze whether the Concessionária Rumo is fulfilling the obligations established in the amendment to the relicitation of the West Track.
In addition, the winning company will have to conduct a survey of the calculation of compensation values due to the company for investments made on the 1,973-kilometer stretch between São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. The estimated value for the auditing company is R$ 6.5 million.
On July 21, 2020, Rumo Malha Oeste filed a request to the National Land Transportation Agency (ANTT) to join the concession return process obtained in 1996. To proceed with the relicitation process, it is necessary to take a series of measures, such as hiring an independent consulting company to oversee the process, as well as certifying the calculation of the compensation owed by the Grantor in relation to investments made in non-amortized or depreciated assets.
The “compensation for non-amortized reversible assets for relicitation” means that, by terminating the concession before the original term and by choosing a new concessionaire, the company that originally held the concession, in this case Rumo, has the right to receive financial compensation for the non-amortized investments made in the assets that will be returned to the government and that will be included in the new concession. This compensation is a way to offset the investments of the concessionaire company, and under the contract rules, this burden must be borne by the public authorities.
According to the Federal Government, the infrastructure of the West Track is currently depreciated. “For years, the current concessionaire made investments at insufficient levels for its maintenance. Underinvestment has resulted in a loss of transport capacity. Currently, trains travel at speeds below their potential, and the volume of cargo transported is limited,” says the Union’s PPI (Investment Partnership Program) report.
The relicitation of the West Track is scheduled to be auctioned off in 2024, granting the 1,973 kilometers of railways from Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul, to Mairinque, São Paulo back to the private sector. The deadline for completion of the relicitation process is February 2025.
The West Track plays a vital role in linking the Southeast and Midwest regions of Brazil, serving as an essential route for the flow of agricultural production to important ports, such as Santos. Additionally, it allows for intermodal connections with other states, including Paraná and Minas Gerais.
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