The Brazilian government has awarded the first in a major program of highway concessions in the state of Parana.
Grupo Pátria’s Infraestrutura Brasil Holding XXI consortium was selected as the winner, beating off competition from one other team. Pátria’s bid offered an 18.25% tariff discount to projections.
The firm already controls three concessions in Sao Paulo, including Eixosp and Entrevias.
Under the 30-year concession, the firm will deliver a $1.6bn, 473km expansion to the road network in Paraná, improving connections between the port of Paranaguá, Curitiba and the border with Paraguay.
The project is the first of six bundles in the Paraná Roads Program, which will upgrade over 3,300km of roads. The projects are collectively valued at around $10bn.
Minister of Transport Renan Filho said the project “will greatly modernize Paraná's infrastructure and will serve as a model and parameter for the entire country”.