Rumo, Cosan’s logistics company, submits an additional bid of R$1.5 billion to renew the São Paulo network

Sao Paulo – A directionLogistics Group Company KuzanIt offered an additional R$1.5 billion to renew the Malha Paulista railway concession. The agreement concluded with Ministry of Transportation It still depends on approval Federal Court of Audit (TCU)According to the minister Renan Filho.

“Once TCU approves the agreement, we will sign the understanding with Romo, which will be an important first step,” he said while participating in a highway event in São Paulo on Thursday the 19th.

This week, Romo launched a public offering of bonds for the same amount, R$1.5 billion, of which R$750 million was subscribed. National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).).

The logistics company informed that the resources will be used for investments in Malha Paulista, part of the largest Brazilian agribusiness export corridor, which connects soybean, corn and sugar producers in the center and west of Brazil. Port of Santos.

The plan aims to donate the additional value to the country’s railway network, and Renan says: “President Lula wants to apply everything that comes from railway to railway.” However, the Minister recognizes that it is still necessary to analyze how to deal with the legal and technical issues to achieve this.

Renan categorizes the R$1.5 billion provided by Romo as an important source of income, considering that in 2022, R$300 million was invested in the Brazilian railway network.

However, according to the minister, railways consume R$20 million per km, while the country’s main railway lines are about 1,500 km.

“It is clear that we need to increase the investment capacity of the country. Therefore, we are discussing renewals, which is a way to value federal public assets,” the minister stated.

In this scenario, Renan also defended the importance of gathering resources to develop a national railway network plan.

The São Paulo network’s concession contract was previously renewed in May 2020, after a five-year process. The concession period of the railway line, covering nearly two thousand kilometres, was extended for 30 years with a counterpart investment of R$6 billion and a grant paid to the federal government of R$2.9 billion.

However, the company had difficulty meeting deadlines for delivering the works, which led to the contract being reconsidered. On the other hand, the government proposed the need to renegotiate the values ​​specified in the renewal, which it considers to be low.