With eight freight railway auctions scheduled for 2026, the Federal Government’s project portfolio has attracted interest from national and international groups. The scenario was presented by the Minister of Transportation, George Santoro, during the event New Paths on Rails: The Future of Railways in Brazil, held at Arena B3, in São Paulo.
Following a series of road shows to present the portfolio to investors and international operators, the minister highlighted growing interest from concessionaires that already operate in the road sector and have begun looking more closely at the railway segment, identifying relevant investment opportunities.
At the same time, groups that chose not to participate in road auctions held by the Union are now evaluating entering railway competitions, expanding the universe of competitors in future bidding processes.
“We held eight road shows, and we’re doing another one outside [the country]. We’re going to do a few more this year, outside and here in Brazil. We’ve seen a very large number of new companies, some companies from the road sector looking at railways, some of these funds that entered the road sector are looking at railways, and some foreign companies that didn’t look at roads are looking at railways”, explained George Santoro.
Among the initiatives adopted by the Federal Government is the extension, through the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), of financing terms up to 40 years for infrastructure and rail transport projects. According to estimates by the Conceding Authority, the measure could enable investments in the order of R$ 600 billion in the railway sector, in addition to another R$ 160 billion allocated to the expansion of the network for general cargo transportation and, especially, commodities.
In this context, the minister emphasized interest from Latin American, European, and Asian groups in the project portfolio. Furthermore, he highlighted the possibility of Brazilian construction companies joining forces to compete in future auctions, according to the schedule released by the government.
“We have some groups from Mexico, Spain, China, Italy, and Portugal. Off the top of my head, these are the countries that have shown interest, that didn’t look at roads and are now looking at railways. And, within Brazil itself, many construction companies studying the projects, probably to form consortiums with operators.”
EF-118 Sparks Strong Market Interest
According to the minister, Estrada de Ferro 118 (EF-118) has sparked strong interest from national and international investors. Currently, between eight and nine groups are studying the project.
The ferrovia was planned to connect Nova Iguaçu, in Rio de Janeiro, to Santa Leopoldina, in Espírito Santo, via 571 kilometers of rail, expanding access to ports in the Southeast Region. Of this total, 246 kilometers, between Santa Leopoldina and Anchieta, were defined as the priority section for investments by the future concessionaire.
The remaining 325 kilometers comprise the section between Nova Iguaçu and São João da Barra, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. This stage was classified as contingent additional investment, dependent on future decisions by the Union and contractual rebalancing mechanisms for its implementation.
“We’re seeing this with the 118, a huge number of companies in this regard. It’s not one group, two or three. We’re talking about eight or nine groups studying the 118. And I think that when the Federal Court of Accounts approves the first bidding notice, it will become clearer who really intends to consolidate themselves in the market”, said Santoro.
The Federal Government estimates that the ferrovia will begin operating from 2035 onwards, strengthening the national railway corridor through integration with Estrada de Ferro Vitória a Minas (EFVM) and, subsequently, with the network operated by MRS Logística.
“The feedback from all the trips we made was very good. Groups we spoke with in 2023 entered the road sector in 2025. It takes time. We need to build confidence in the Brazilian portfolio”, concluded the minister.
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