Businessman wants government as a partner at HSR

To avoid the failure of the High Speed Rail (HSR) project connecting Rio, São Paulo and Campinas, the government would have to sign in as a partner in the project, said to Estado the commercial vice president of the Italian Finmeccanica – one of the groups interested in the undertaking – Paolo Pozzessere. According to the businessman, even though the estimated cost of US$ 20.75 billion is correct, the companies are not willing to inject the entire amount of resources in the undertaking.

Either the government changes its policy or it will have to abort the project. We need the commitment of the government in some percentage, because we and other companies cannot make an investment as high as that, said the executive, who declined to estimate what would be the minimum size of the slice that the State should afford.

A source that is close to the negotiations said, however, that some groups suggest that the government would need to get at least half of the project cost to make it viable.

It is not enough. To Pozzessere, the funding of US$ 12.57 billion from Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES – Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social), authorized the day before yesterday by the Senate, is not enough to ensure the HSR implementation.

The government has to invest directly a portion of the money. We could achieve the funding from other banks around the world, he said, adding, however, that the funding model of BNDES was well structured.

The National Land Transport Agency (ANTT – Agência Nacional de Transportes Terrestres) states that the change is not in the government’s plans. There is no such possibility, said, clear-cut, the Director General of the agency, Bernardo Figueiredo. He said, however, that did not receive this request from the investors.

Last week, the HSR auction was postponed for the second time, after the interested companies requested rule changes. On occasion, the government made it clear, however, that it only accepts make some specific adjustments in the notice to bid.

According to Bernardo, one of the requests that will be met is granting greater autonomy to enterprises in the choice of the national partner for which technology will be transferred. The government also may review the pace of introduction of the national content in the works.

Both the postponements and the doubts about the real cost of the undertaking have generated disbelief in various industries. Yesterday, the chairman of the airline Azul, David Neeleman, said he did not believe that the HSR get started. I guess it won’t get started. I believe that the cost of the project is two times more expensive than people think.

Neeleman’s prediction was a response to questions about the impacts HSR would have on the demand of the air bridge between Rio and São Paulo during an aviation seminar promoted by GE. If the train project goes ahead, airlines plan to compete with aggressive prices.

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For Azul’s executive, HSR will not get started