Brazil auctions off six port terminals

The auction of the terminals in the state of Pará to private operators netted $115.9 million and included leases ranging from 15 to 25 years, according to The Rio Times.

   Brazil on Friday auctioned off six port terminals in the northern state of Pará to private operators for $115.9 million, The Rio Times reported.
    Ipiranga, Raizen, a joint venture between Shell and Cosan, and subsidiaries of the state-run oil company Petroleo Braileiro SA were among the buyers of the terminals, which included five in the Miramar port in the city of Belem and one in the Vila do Conde port in the city of Barcarena, according to Reuters. The contracts range from 15 years to 25 years and can be renewed up to 70 years, The Rio Times noted.
   Government officials said another $108.7 million will be invested in the terminals, according to The Rio Times.
   Petrobus Distribuidora SA and Petrobus Transporte SA both won 20-year leases for terminals in the Port of Miramar with respective bids of 50 million reais (about $13 million) and 30.3 million reais ($7.86 million), Reuters reported.
   Ipiranga, a subsidiary of Ultrapar Participacoes SA and Brazil’s largest private fuel distributor, also won a lease of 15 years in Miramar with a bid of 87.1 million reais ($22.6 million), according to Reuters.
   The Brazilian government also raised more than $56.57 million with the auction of four port terminals in the states of Paraiba and Espirito Santa in March, and the auction of three additional terminals is expected this month, according to The Rio Times. It reported the three terminals — two in the Port of Santos and one in the Port of Paranagua — will render the government about $103.5 million.
   Twenty-three concessions, including ports, airports and railways, have been carried out in 2019 as Brazil’s federal government attempts to privatize “a good part of Brazil’s public infrastructure,” according to The Rio Times.