CODESA privatization advances in federal audit court with tariff reduction

The process that will culminate in the first privatization of Brazilian ports, by Companhia Docas do Espírito Santo (CODESA), advanced at the federal audit court (TCU), which needs to release the project so the federal government can publish the notice and carry out the auction. During the government’s negotiations with TCU’s technical area, the privatization plan was amended to include more tariff reductions and to reinforce the model whereby part of the concession paid by the future concessionaire can be used in investments in the port itself.

According to sources, the government reached a new value for the main tariff paid by the shipping companies, that of waterway access (called table 1) with a reduction of 37% compared to the initial proposal by the Ministry of Infrastructure – also lower than the amount paid today by companies. Currently, the estimate in table 1 is around R$ 1.7 per deadweight ton (TpB). When the project was submitted for analysis by the TCU in August, the initial government spreadsheet foresaw the benchmark of R$1.24/TpB, which dropped to R$0.79/TpB after revisions carried out with the court’s technical unit.

The amount of R$ 0.79 can still be adjusted upwards, due to a change in the tables that will exempt another tariff. The calculations are still being carried out, but, even with the rearrangement, the main tariff should still be lower than the one initially stipulated by the government in the privatization project.

The Ministry of Infrastructure intends to hold the auction for CODESA between March and April of next year. CODESA currently manages the organized ports of Vitória and Barra do Riacho. Whoever buys the company will have to invest R$ 1 billion over a 35-year contract. It will be the debut of public port privatization and a test run for the largest asset on the list: the Port of Santos, the largest port complex in Latin America.

As it is the first privatization sent to TCU, technicians claim that adjustments and improvements to the project were expected. The minimum grant that the winning company or consortium will need to disburse also underwent changes after the plan arrived in court. It went from R$665.5 million to R$471.6 million.

Source: AE News/Agência Estado

To read the full original article, visit the link:

http://codesa.gov.br/site/?p=noticia&id=4232

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