Railroad works committed to increasing cargo volume

A new railroad contour in the Serra do Tigre region between the municipalities of Patrocínio and Sete Lagoas (MG) is the main bet of entrepreneurs from Espírito Santo to dynamize the flow of cargo – mainly from agribusiness – towards the ports of Espírito Santo. The work is being discussed within the scope of the advanced 30-year extension of the concession contract for Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica (FCA). The current lease expires in August 2026.

This work is not in the original contract renewal proposal that was submitted for a public hearing. FINDES (federation of industries of Espírito Santo) points out that the investment of around R$ 2.8 billion would be able to increase the movement of cargo through this logistic corridor to 22 million tons per year by 2035. It is triple the 7 million tons per year projected for 2055, two decades later, without the creation of the new infrastructure.

One of the criticisms of the privatization model of CODESA, which manages the ports of Vitória and Barra do Riacho, is about the supposed underestimation of demand in official studies. In fact, the forecasts do not include the Serra do Tigre contour as one of the required counterparts in the advanced renewal of the FCA.

Valor found out that the Ministry of Infrastructure is still not convinced about the project defended by FINDES. The ministry’s priority is to demand a “cross” investment from the concessionaire in the construction of a stretch of FIOL (the West-East integration railway), between Bahia and Tocantins, connecting it with the North-South.

The new Serra do Tigre contour will free trains of the need to climb the mountain, allowing an increase in the average speed of locomotives from the current 12 km/h to 45 km/h, in addition to 30% lower fuel consumption. The cost of freight would drop 7.5%, according to a study by Fundação Dom Cabral, commissioned by FINDES. It would be a win for grain producers, especially in Minas and Goiás.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original article, visit the link:

https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2021/11/16/obra-em-ferrovia-e-aposta-para-elevar-volume-de-carga.ghtml

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