MPE to assemble trains for monorail

Brazilian group MPE and Malaysian outfit Scomi are betting on the production, in Brazil, of trains for monorail systems. Together, the companies shall construct a factory unit in Rio de Janeiro for the production of 24 trains within a contract of R$ 1.35 billion for Line 17 of the São Paulo Metro System, a line to be operated by a monorail system. This is a transport system that passes along raised roads like cars, operated by electric propulsion on rubber tires.

MPE shall make use of their site with an area of 50 thousand square meters, in an industrial estate in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, alongside Brazil Avenue, which is the main access of the city by road, to install the factory. There, the group shall have sheds which shall be refurbished and expanded. The investment made to install the first assembly line shall be R$ 15 million, a figure which can be raised by 66%, reaching the level of R$ 25 million, depending on the demand by the national market for monorail systems. Scomi and MPE are involved in another consortium to implement a monorail in the city of Manaus (State of Amazonas).

The unit shall produce the aluminum boxes of the cars for the monorails and can also make the integration of the other equipment which is part of the train. From there, the train shall be ready with a nationalization index which shall start at 30% and then reach 60%. However, there is also the possibility of ending the industrial integration of the trains at the cities where they shall operate.

In the contract for Line 17 of the São Paulo Metro, 72 carriages shall be produced; each train shall have three carriages and may transport a total of 400 people, said Adagir Abreu Filho, the director of MPE Montagens e Projetos Especiais. In all, Line 17 plans the transport of 252 thousand people per day as from 2015. The Press Relations Department of the Metro Company yesterday informed that the time frames for the project are being maintained.

MPE and Scomi have entered the monorail project for Line 17 through the consortium by the name of Consórcio Integração, led by Andrade Gutierrez and also having the participation of CR Almeida. Out of the total value of the contract, which has been put at R$ 1.35 billion, a total of R$ 250 million shall be for the construction of the trains that shall have to be delivered in 30 months, said Mr. Abreu Filho. The difference of R$ 1.1 billion is for civil work within the project. According to the Metro Company (Metrô), the total investment on Line 17 shall come to R$ 3.1 billion.

Mr. Abreu Filho said that the contract with the Integração consortium excludes some equipment and work projects, such as the construction of the passenger stations and the provision of energy systems and part of the telecommunications needed for the operation of the monorail. Hence the fact that the investment made in Line 17 is higher in value than the contract signed with the consortium.

The first section, between Congonhas Airport and Morumbi Station on Line 9 of the São Paulo commuter train system operated by CPTM, is planned for completion by 2014. The rest of the line should be handed over by the middle of 2015, according to the São Paulo Metro Company, that shall also make use of a monorail system for the extension work on Line 2, a project due for completion in 2013 for an investment of R$ 263.3 million. This section is the responsibility of the companies: Queiroz Galvão, OAS and Bombardier.

Halan Moreira, the representative of Scomi in Brazil, said the company has a commercial agreement with MPE that could develop into a joint venture. In his opinion, the production of trains for monorail systems could be entirely concentrated in Rio. However, there is the possibility, depending on what tax breaks are obtained, of there being two more units: in São Paulo, responsible for the assembly of the motor transmission systems, the gearbox and the brakes; and in Manaus, which would be the home of the information systems, such as circuits.

Mr. Moreira said that the investment of R$ 15 million in the Rio de Janeiro plant considers the installation of an assembly line to operate in one shift, with a capacity to produce 60 carriages per year. If the demand justifies this, there could be an additional investment of R$ 10 million in another two production lines at the unit. The executive has also said that the two components production units, in São Paulo and in Manaus, would require an additional investment of R$ 10 million.

According to him, the consortium comprising CR Almeida, Serveng, Mendes Junior and Scomi, with MPE as a partner, made the Best offer for the construction of a monorail project in Manaus. The investment in this project has been estimated at R$ 1.5 billion. MPE is also interested in implementing a monorail in the city of Rio de Janeiro.