Expansion of railroads depends on investments, legal security and demand, say experts

The Federal Government aims to expand the flow of export cargo, especially grains, by rail. The goal is for the participation of the railway modal in the national transport matrix to jump from 17% to 40%, according to the Minister of Transportation, Renan Filho. However, for this projection to get off the ground and become a reality, it is not enough to build railroads, legal certainty and cargo demand are needed, warn logistics specialists.

In a recent interview, Renan said that the process to leverage the country’s railroads involves addressing requests for review of contracts and the return of concessions to unlock R$ 80 billion in investments.

This Wednesday (2nd), in Brasilia, the Federal Audit Court (TCU) authorized public infrastructure concessionaires to renegotiate their concession contracts with the Federal Government without the need to open a new tender.

According to lawyer Maria Cristina Gontijo, who works in the area of Regulatory Law and teaches Railroad Transport Law, Environmental Law and Maritime and Port Law, it is important that the equation be carried out in an organized and coordinated manner between agencies and ministries, as well as the Court Federal Accounting Office (TCU), ensuring compliance with contracts by the authorization holders and tenants of these services.

“Several concessions, unfortunately, are subject to revision, with a process of remodeling the old and new concession contracts. The objective is to resume projects efficiently and ensure the legal security of hiring. This will be done mainly by reviewing the model and the percentages and parameters of future concessions and renewals. There is no point in proposing a model that is impossible for concessionaires to comply with and without compliance instruments”.

The expert also explained that the possibility of termination of contracts for non-compliance by concessionaires is not something new. “However, at the moment we live in, when contracts are subject to compliance instruments, the TCU, for example, already has a position to change parameters to guarantee efficiency and legal certainty. The National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) must follow these new parameters, like what happened with the highways”.

The president of the Brazilian Association of Port, Waterway and Coastal Engineering (Comport), Ernani Muraro, pointed out that, before leveraging the railway sector, it is necessary to analyze two situations.

“One thing is the installed capacity of the railroads. They need to evolve. Either the Federal Government invests or releases the terms of authorization, and in this environment, there are many speculators. Another thing is to move the load from the highway to the railroad. It’s not just building the railroad, what if it’s cheaper to transport the cargo by road? And what if the railway operator charges so much that it becomes cheaper by road?”, he observed.

From the logistical point of view, the technologist in Logistics and Transport and partner and consultant at Agência Porto Consultoria, Ivam Jardim, stated that “the ports of Santos, Paranaguá (PR) and Itaqui (MA) will be in demand until new ports are developed with access to the sea, for example, to Miritituba (PA) via waterway.

As for the benefits of rail transport, Jardim stated that “from the ports to the countryside, the benefits of changing modes are clear, as freight transport by rail is usually more efficient in terms of costs compared to road transport. Railroads have greater carrying capacity and lower fuel consumption, which can result in reduced transportation costs. From an environmental point of view, rail transport is generally more environmentally friendly than road transport. It produces less greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to reducing air pollution and road congestion.”

Source: A Tribuna

To read the full original report, visit: https://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/portomar/expansao-de-ferrovias-passa-por-investimentos-seguranca-juridica-e-demanda-dizem-especialistas

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