By: Leonardo Neri

The National Land Transportation Agency (ANTT) approved the publication of the Notice for the concession of the BR-163/230/MT/PA highway system and the port terminal accesses of Mirituba, Santarenzinho and Itapacurá, being the BR-163/MT highway between the junction with MT-220 in the municipality of Sinop (km 868.6) and the MT/PA border in the municipality of Guarantã do Norte (km 1,131.4); the BR-163/PA highway between the MT/PA border in the municipality of Novo Progresso (km 0.0) and the junction with BR-230/PA in the municipality of Itaituba (km 674.4); and the BR-230/PA highway, between the junction with the BR-163/PA in the municipality of Itaituba (km 1,113.4) and the beginning of the crossing of the Tapajós River in the district of Mirituba (km 1,146.4), comprising 1,090.52 kilometers, integrating the Central-West and North regions of the country.

The project aims to grant a concession, for a period of 10 years, renewable for another 2 years, for the exploration of the infrastructure and the provision of public services for recovery, operation, maintenance, monitoring, conservation, implementation of improvements and maintenance. A total of R$1.06 billion in investments and operating costs for the highway system is expected. The project's internal rate of return (real), established by the granting authority, on the cash flow without leverage, is R$8.471.3 billion per year.

The project has a series of innovations, including a 5% discount for users of electronic payment devices; stopping points for truck drivers and a stock of improvements, with the possibility of carrying out works throughout the concession.

With the auction scheduled to take place on July 8, 2021 at B3, in São Paulo, the judging criterion will be the best economic proposal, which will be the lowest value of the Basic Toll Fee to be charged to users of the Highway System.

The exploration of this road system is fundamental for the development of the region, as it is one of the main corridors for the flow of grain harvests, enabling the flow of producing areas and boosting the economy of 13 municipalities in two federative units, in addition to connecting the port terminals of Arco Norte (Rio Tapajós) to the railway terminal of Rondonópolis/MT, as well as generating approximately 36,343 direct and indirect jobs.