Brazilian company EcoRodovias won a 30-year contract to operate the 13.2-kilometer (8.2-mile) bridge across Guanabara Bay connecting the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi, the longest span in Brazil.
EcoRodovias submitted an offer at an auction at the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange setting tolls at 3.28 reais ($1) per vehicle, a price 36.67 percent below the maximum set in the government’s request for bids.
The second-lowest proposal was submitted by the Nova Guanabara consortium with tolls at 3.35 reais ($1.03) per vehicle, or 35.2 percent below the ceiling.
CCR, current operator of the bridge under a 20-year-old contract that expires in May, submitted a proposal with tolls set at 4.24 reais ($1.31) per vehicle, or 18.2 percent below the government’s limit.
The National Ground Transportation Agency, or ANTT, which regulates the sector, said infrastructure investment in the bridge is estimated at 1.3 billion reais (around $401.7 million).
Among the bridge’s main infrastructure features are an elevated viaduct between the structure and the Red Line, an important Rio de Janeiro freeway; a tunnel under the Plaza Renacimiento in Niteroi; and a lane providing heavy trucks exclusive access to Brazil Avenue, the city’s main street.
The Rio-Niteroi bridge, officially the Presidente Costa e Silva Bridge, was built 41 years ago and handles some 56 million vehicles annually.
The structure is the world’s 11th-longest bridge.
Source | Latin American Herald Tribune
