Sao Paulo gov’t announces resumption of Tiete-Parana waterway works

The government of São Paulo signed, this Friday (17th), the contract that establishes the resumption of works to expand the Nova Avanhandava canal, located close to the city of Buritama. Today, the river stretch is deemed the main bottleneck of the Tietê-Paraná waterway. The works were initially paralyzed due to a drought in the state between 2014 and 2016 and then again in 2021 and 2022.

The idea is to deepen the river course channel in a 16 km stretch to achieve a minimum depth of 3.5 meters. This will create the conditions necessary for navigation and cargo freight, even during periods of drought, according to the state secretary for the Environment, Infrastructure, and Logistics, Natália Resende. Today, the depth of the channel fluctuates a lot depending on the rainfall. In times of drought, for example,  the water level can drop to 2 meters, 1 meter, or even zero – a scenario that may be avoided with the soon-to-begin works.

The complex project requires underwater explosions to remove 550,000 m³ of rocks and sediment from the bottom of the river, equivalent to 60 Olympic swimming pools.

The state government has been trying to re-initiate these works since 2014 when a first tender was held to find companies interested in engaging with the project. However, the selection process ended up being suspended after several complaints from the bidders. The project was then revised and, in 2017, resulted in a contract with a consortium formed by the construction companies Queiroz Galvão and Cetenco. However, in the face of delays, the state terminated the agreement in mid-2019.

In 2022, the government carried out a new tender, in which a consortium formed by the engineering companies DP Barros, Brawu Ambiental, and O’Martin won. The group charged BRL 294 million for the work, which will receive federal funds through an agreement signed with the Union.

The result of the tender had already been defined in October 2022. However, the signing of the contract was delayed because the runner-up in the dispute, Enterpa Engenharia, filed a representation at the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). The precautionary request, however, was denied – the ruling was issued earlier this month.

Now, from the signing of the contract, the consortium will have 30 days to present its work plan, and, once it is approved, the works will begin. The complete intervention is expected to last 36 months.

The Tietê-Paraná Waterway crosses six states – Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Paraná – and is an important route for transporting agricultural commodities. In 2020 (the last full year not affected by interruptions in operations), 2 million tonnes of cargo were transported there, mainly soybeans, soymeal, and sugar cane.

The Nova Avanhandava work will be the main intervention in the waterway. However, the secretary explains the government is also studying other efforts to improve cargo flow. “We are talking to highway contact-holders to increase the gap between the pillars of some bridges that cross the waterway, which today are 30 meters. From the moment you increase that gap, we get faster transport because it makes the passage of barges easier,” she says.

The initiative is part of the state’s plan to balance its transport matrix, which today depends on 79% of highways. Resende highlights the advantage of waterway transportation from an environmental point of view: with one liter of fuel, trucks can travel 25 km, while the same amount of fuel can take carriers 220 km farther.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original news piece, check: https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2023/03/17/sp-destrava-principal-obra-da-hidrovia-tiete-parana.ghtml

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