Brazil unveils 57 plans for privatization of gov't-run firms

With a view to improving the revenues of Brazil's federal government and stimulating the economy, the government decided to offer to the private enterprise the administration of 14 airports, 11 packages of transmission lines, 15 port terminals, in addition to part of Eletrobras, as had been announced earlier this week. The government is expected to raise some $14 billion with the move.

In a meeting held Wednesday (Aug. 23) at the Planalto presidential palace, the Council for the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI) decided to also include the privatization of highways, the Casa da Moeda do Brasil (the Brazilian Mint), Lotex, and the Companhia Docas do Espírito. Projects total 57.

Airports

The airports under the plan were split into four blocks. One of them includes the airport of Congonhas only—the country's second biggest, with 21 million passengers a year. The second encompasses airports in the Northeast (Maceió, Aracaju, João Pessoa, Campina Grande, Juazeiro do Norte, and Recife). Another block is formed by terminals in the state of Mato Grosso (Cuiabá, Sinop, Ala Floresta, Barra do Garça, and Rondonópolis). The fourth group includes the airports of Vitória and Macaé.

Also to be carried out is the alienation of the INFRAERO's shares (49%) in the airports of Guarulhos, Confins, Brasília, Galeão, which have already been made available for offers.

Transmission lines

The transmission lines to be made available are scattered through ten states: Bahia, Ceará, Pará, Paraná, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Minas, Gerais, and Tocantins.

“The remuneration model and discount fees make investors see the transmission lines as a fixed income investment,” a passage of the document released by the presidency reads.

The government is estimated to raise $633.5 million after the 15 port terminals are handed over to the private enterprise.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira