Docas Do Rio Is Targeted By The Government’s Privatization Program

According to the Infrastructure Minister, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, the ports of Espírito Santo and São Sebastião should be sold first.

On this Monday, June 24, the Infrastructure Minister, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, attended a breakfast organized by the Business Council of LIDE (Group of Business Leaders) in Rio. He reported that the discussions were about the government’s plans to privatize Santos Dumont Airport, as well as other important infrastructure assets such as the Docas Company and the concession of various highways, all located in Rio de Janeiro.

The minister outlined the plans for the port sector, stating that the aim is to privatize the Docas companies. Freitas emphasized that the first companies to be transferred to the private sector will be Docas do Espírito Santo and São Sebastião and later the one in Rio de Janeiro.

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“These experiences being successful and we will think of something similar for the Docas of Rio de Janeiro. We see a very large potential for attracting investment here. It is clear that Docas do Rio has a much more fragile financial situation. It needs a financial recovery effort before launching a tender so that we do not destroy value. The strategy is to start this restructuring work on the company before thinking about transferring this asset to the private sector” said the minister.

Freitas noted that, in addition to having conducted ten auctions this year, another ten will be held in August, such as in Santos, Paranaguá, as well as others in Suape, Itaqui, and Rio Grande do Norte.

“We will begin the privatization of docas companies, which is a paradigm shift. We observe a significant potential for improvement and attracting investments. The first is Docas do Espírito Santo, which has a large area and can attract private interest, as it has low labor liabilities and few employees. It is an environment to start this journey of privatizations. Next, we will privatize Docas de São Sebastião. And from there, we will take the next steps. Our intention is to open the capital of Santos.” Freitas said.

Regarding Highways and Railway Investment in Rio

Regarding highways, Freitas emphasized that the works on the mountain range, corresponding to the bidding for Rio-Juiz de Fora, will be included in the new concession. The minister highlights that the network in Rio will be “practically all granted, in the hands of the private sector.”

“We will make the new concession of Rio-Teresópolis. And we insisted on incorporating the Metropolitan Arc into the concession of the new Rio-Teresópolis. It goes from a little over a hundred kilometers to 700 kilometers. And this, in a way, is to serve the Comperj refinery” said the minister.

In railways, Freitas highlighted that the investment will be aimed at providing infrastructure for the Port of Açu, in São João da Barra, in the North of the State of Rio. He mentioned that he intends to extend the Vitória-Minas Railway to Rio de Janeiro. To do this, he said he plans to use resources from the extension of the MRS Logística contract and resources from the federal government.

– It is a government objective to take the railway to Açu. This will be done with resources from the MRS extension and with the AGU’s own resources, which is public investment. But we are still evaluating. We see the Port of Açu as a great port – he emphasized.

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