Apr 28, 2017

• Services are being offered to the states of Acre, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Santa Catarina

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) started the conducting of electronic auctions for contracting specialized technical studies for the structuring of private participation projects, such as concessions, sub-concessions, and public-private partnerships, aimed at the universalization of the water supply services and sanitation in the states of Acre, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Santa Catarina.

Acre’s auction for the contracting of studies was held on Monday, 24, Rio Grande do Norte’s on Tuesday, 25th, and Santa Catarina’s on Wednesday, 26th. Ceará’s auction, which was scheduled for the 24th, was rescheduled to May 9th due to the need for adjustments in the specifications of the bidding notice. Paraíba’s auction, scheduled for the 25th, was revoked because the state decided to quit the program.

The winners of the three auctions held this week were Saneamento Brasil, comprised of the companies Fialho Canabrava Andrade Salles Advogados, Avaliar – Avaliações e Assessoria Ltda. and Esse Engenharia e Consultoria Ltda., for Acre; Aqua, consisting of BF Capital Assessoria em Operações Financeiras Ltda., AECON do Brasil Ltda. and Azevedo Sette Advogados Associados, for Rio Grande do Norte; and APP Saneamento, formed by Hidroconsult Consultoria, Estudos e Projetos Ltda., Almeida e Silva, Gouvêa Vieira Advogados Associados and Brasilpar Serviços Financeiros Ltda., for Santa Catarina.

Twenty consortia participated in Acre’s auction and the one which was declared winner, Saneamento Brasil, submitted a bid in the total amount of R$ 3,550,000.00, a 66% fall from the estimated value of R$ 10,727,229.75. Nineteen consortia participated in Rio Grande do Norte’s auction and the winning bid was Aqua’s, with R$ 6,300,000.00, a 70% reduction in relation to the estimated value of R$ 21,273,422.10. Santa Catarina’s auction also had the participation of 20 consortia, with the winning bid having been presented by APP Saneamento Brasil in the total amount of R$ 8,290,000.00, a 76% reduction in relation to the estimated value of R$ 36,081,625.95. All the results will be validated after the time limits for appeals.

This is the second round of auctions for the contracting of studies for the states that have joined the program of private participation in the sanitation sector designed by BNDES and included in the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI) of the Federal Government. The first bidding round of the studies was held in March for Alagoas, Amapá, Maranhão, Pará, Pernambuco and Sergipe. This first group also includes the state of Rondônia, which bid for the studies directly and will have the support from BNDES in the structuring of projects.

Twenty-three consortia licensed by BNDES until March 8th will participate in the bidding of the studies, in accordance with the notices published by the Bank for the respective states. The electronic auctions are conducted through the Federal Government’s purchasing portal (www.comprasgovernamentais.gov.br) and the winning consortium is the one offering the lowest price for the service. The deadline for delivery of the studies is six to eight months.

The bidding notices with the detailing of the services to be contracted are published on the website of BNDES in the Transparency/Bids/Electronic auctions section. The decision about the business model to be adopted in each project will be solely the responsibility of the states supported – a decision that will be subsidized by the information and studies on contracting feasibility from BNDES.

The projects approved will be subsequently bid by the states, which will receive advice from BNDES until the signing of the partnership contract  with the private sector, which involves monitoring the public hearing, in serving the control entities and the projects’ bidding procedures.