It bodes well that a government ideologically opposed to privatization continues to look to the private sector to improve Brazil’s poor infrastructure, a sector fundamental to development. At least with respect to highways and airports, crucial transportation points, the PT administration has maintained the concession programs of previous administrations.
In the most recent episode, the government renegotiated the concession contract for the Fernão Dias Highway (BR-381), which connects São Paulo to Belo Horizonte through 33 cities. The auction was won by Motiva (formerly CCR), which outperformed Arteris, the current concessionaire. This is the fourth contract optimization competition, and the first that the current manager has not won. Fernão Dias is expected to receive BRL9.5 billion in investments, plus BRL5.4 billion in operating costs across the entire concession. The road is one of the country’s main logistics corridors and accommodates around 250,000 vehicles per day. Transport Minister Renan Filho said it would benefit from, among other interventions, road surface improvements and new access to cities. The current government has already held 22 highway auctions and is planning 14 more for 2026.
- Highway: Motiva outperforms Arteris and wins the auction to renegotiate Fernão Dias’ concession contract
The same momentum contributed to the privatization of airports. In November, GRU Airport, owner of the Guarulhos concession in São Paulo, won the auction for 12 regional terminals, while the German Fraport, which manages the airports of Fortaleza and Porto Alegre, won that of Jericoacoara (CE). The planned investment in these sites is estimated at 730 million reais. The intention is to connect them to the national grid and encourage the development of cities.
- Auction: Anac approves rapid tender notice for Galeão Airport
No less important will be the tender for the Tom Jobim/Galeão International Airport, in Rio, which is recovering after a long period of emptying due to problems in the contract and an imbalance in coordination with the Santos Dumont domestic terminal. On Thursday, the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) approved the notice of the simplified auction that will take place in March, with a minimum bid of 932.8 million reais. The intention is to correct the financial problems of the contract. The government hopes that the current concessionaire RIOGaleão will continue to operate the airport.
When ideological resistance leaves the scene, the country moves forward. For any Brazilian who drives on federally managed highways, it is clear that the state is unable to maintain them. It is true that not all of them can be granted to the private sector, because some are not financially attractive. But those that are viable must be transferred. At least in the infrastructure sector, the government has recognized the obvious: highways and airports improve considerably when they are managed by private concessionaires. If he had adopted the same attitude towards Correios, the company would certainly not have gone through such a serious crisis, and the taxpayer would not have had to pay billions in yet another desperate attempt to save it.
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