After a failed attempt by the Lula government to award the Celulose Highway to private initiative in 2024, the southern Mato Grosso section was auctioned off to the K&G Celulose Highway consortium, composed of K Infra Concessões and Galápagos Participações, at a B3 (São Paulo Stock Exchange) auction held on Thursday (8). In the bidding model, competitors offered discounts on toll fees, with the winner offering a 9% discount and a R$ 217.389.913.70 investment. The winning bidder beat out three other competitors. The Caminhos da Celulose consortium, led by XP, offered an 8% discount, while Rotas do Brasil, led by Kinea and Way, proposed a 5% discount. The BTG Pactual Infraestrutura III fund offered the lowest bid, at 4%. The auction did not go to the final bid stage, where bidders increase their offers until reaching the final value. The concession includes the highways: BR-262, BR-267, MS-040, MS-338, and MS-395. The sections connect Três Lagoas to the municipality of Nova Alvorada do Sul, passing through the state capital, Campo Grande. The route is important for the agricultural production of the state and for the transportation of the cellulose industry's production chain in eastern Mato Grosso do Sul - hence the name Celulose Highway. In total, the sections auctioned off on Thursday total 870.3 km in length, with estimated investments of R$ 6.91 billion in works (capex) and R$ 3.19 billion in operating costs (Opex). Among the planned interventions are highway duplications, the creation of service lanes, and the implementation of third lanes. In late 2024, the Lula government attempted to auction off the Celulose Highway, but the project did not receive any bids. The auction was scheduled for December 6. The concession project was structured by the government of Mato Grosso do Sul. According to Folha de S.Paulo's report, within the Ministry of Transportation, the assessment was that entrepreneurs were focused on other projects considered more attractive in the road concession portfolio, which would have ended up leaving Mato Grosso do Sul's offer in second place. To the report, the national secretary of road transportation, Viviane Esse, said it is normal for some projects not to receive bids and need adjustments given a large portfolio of assets to be concessioned. According to Aline Klein, infrastructure and concessions specialist at Vernalha Pereira law firm, the auction result confirms the success of the changes made to the bidding document. 'The profile of the bidders, with participation from various representatives of the financial market [managers], demonstrates the consolidation of interest from that segment in the highway market,' Klein said.
https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/economia/apos-fracasso-de-leilao-em-dezembro-rota-da-celulose-e-arrematada-por-consorcio-kg/