The construction company that built Itaipu, Brasília, and Line 4 of the Rio Metro, Andrade Gutierrez, files its second out-of-court reorganization in four and a half years in Belo Horizonte with R$ 3.4 billion in debts and 47% of the projects halted.

Written by Douglas Avila

Published on 23/05/2026 at 17:19

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The request was filed in the 1st Business Court of Belo Horizonte, under the analysis of Judge Claudia Helena Batista, and covers six subsidiaries of the group inside and outside Brazil, motivated by the halt of 47% of ongoing projects and the stalling of two international megaprojects.

Andrade Gutierrez filed for out-of-court recovery in the 1st Business Court of Belo Horizonte, on the night of May 19. It is the second time in four and a half years. The construction company, founded in 1948 and responsible for projects such as Itaipu, part of Brasília, and the Line 4 of the Rio Metro, wants to renegotiate R$ 3.4 billion in debts.

The economic specialized press reported the protocol on Friday, May 23. Poder360 reported first, followed by Capital Aberto, ADVFN, Agora RN, and Megamoveleiros.

The construction company divided the plan into two groups. The first includes Andrade Gutierrez Engenharia (AGE), AGCS, and AGIE. The second covers AGINT, Zagope SGPS, and Inzag Germany. Six subsidiaries inside and outside Brazil are affected by the same cash crunch.

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Megaprojects stalled in Ghana and the Dominican Republic

The two main portfolio shocks came from abroad. In Ghana, in West Africa, a highway that represented about 15% of the portfolio of the construction company stalled, with an estimated value of R$ 1.4 billion.

In the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean, a hydroelectric plant that accounted for 32% of the portfolio stopped, totaling R$ 3.2 billion in a project that was in an advanced stage of execution.

The two contracts together amounted to almost half of what Andrade Gutierrez had in ongoing projects outside Brazil.

Graal Building in Belo Horizonte, where Andrade Gutierrez offices operate, modern facade with glass and concrete under a blue sky

The 1st Court of Belo Horizonte had already approved the first out-of-court recovery of Andrade Gutierrez in November 2022, with the same format of a consensual plan with creditors.

The previous process closed a chapter opened by Operation Car Wash, in which Andrade Gutierrez had also signed a leniency agreement for R$ 214 million with the Federal Public Ministry.

Now the company attributes the new crunch to less political and more financial factors, but the mechanism chosen to tackle the debt is the same as just over three years ago.

I wonder what it means for the construction worker to see the brand that built Itaipu asking for help from creditors for the second time in the same decade. For Brazil, it’s the line of large national construction companies that continues to shrink.

The scenario abroad, with a hydroelectric plant stalled in Santo Domingo and a highway stopped in Accra, suggests that Andrade Gutierrez’s problem is not just domestic. But, combined with the time lost in Brazilian public projects, it is difficult to isolate a single cause.

More than 70% of creditors supporting the plan before the protocol is a sign that the renegotiation was conducted behind the scenes. The approval, however, depends on Judge Claudia Helena Batista validating the structure of the two groups.

Meanwhile, the national projects that depended on Andrade Gutierrez continue at a slow pace, in parallel with other Brazilian mega-projects that drag the schedule, such as the Ferrogrão railway, unlocked by the Supreme Court after five years, and private contracts that depend on constructive innovation, such as the Dutch bacterial concrete that has not yet reached any national pilot project.

It remains to be seen if this recovery saves the mechanism or just postpones the outcome. And if the 70% of creditors who signed beforehand will maintain their support when the judge puts the two plans side by side.

Sources: Poder360, Capital Aberto, ADVFN, Agora RN, Megamoveleiros.

Do you believe that Andrade Gutierrez can get out of this second out-of-court recovery without needing a third in the next five years?

The construction company that built Itaipu, Brasília, and Line 4 of the Rio Metro, Andrade Gutierrez, files its second out-of-court reorganization in four and a half years in Belo Horizonte with R$ 3.4 billion in debts and 47% of the projects halted.

The request was filed in the 1st Business Court of Belo Horizonte, under the analysis of Judge Claudia Helena Batista, and covers six subsidiaries of the group inside and outside Brazil, motivated by the halt of 47% of ongoing projects and the stalling of two international megaprojects.

Megaprojects stalled in Ghana and the Dominican Republic

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The construction company that built Itaipu, Brasília, and Line 4 of the Rio Metro, Andrade Gutierrez, files its second out-of-court reorganization in four and a half years in Belo Horizonte with R$ 3.4 billion in debts and 47% of the projects halted.

The request was filed in the 1st Business Court of Belo Horizonte, under the analysis of Judge Claudia Helena Batista, and covers six subsidiaries of the group inside and outside Brazil, motivated by the halt of 47% of ongoing projects and the stalling of two international megaprojects.

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Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

A 250-ton transformer traveled 1,929 km by road in India on a slow and planned journey that demonstrates how the power grid relies on giant loads, detours, and impossible routes for regular trucks.

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