The Council of the Partnership and Investment Program (PPI), of the Ministry of Economy, presented today (2) a portfolio with 115 assets for auctions and concession projects to the private sector in 2021, with the expectation of generating R $ 367 billion in investments. The announcement came after the 14th meeting of the board, this Wednesday morning, which was chaired by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, and was attended by President Jair Bolsonaro.

Among the projects, is the privatization of nine state-owned companies: Eletrobras, Brazilian Guarantee and Guarantee Funds Management Agency (ABGF), Asset Management Company (Engea), CeasaMinas, Porto Alegre Urban Trains Company (Trensurb), Companhia Brasileira de Urban Trains of Minas Gerais (CBTU-MG), Correios, Companhia Docas do Espírito Santo (Codesa) and Nuclebrás Equipamentos Pesados (Nuclep).

The concession of 16 ports is also planned, including Santos (SP) and Paranaguá (PR); six highways, especially Via Dutra, which connects Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo; 24 airports, including the relicitation of Viracopos (SP) and São Gonçalo do Amarante (RN); six parks and forests and oil and gas events and mining rights.

Amapá and Eletrobras 

The PPI special secretary, Martha Seillier, explained that the privatization of Eletrobras has been prioritized by the federal government for many years, but it still depends on the approval of a bill that is being processed by the National Congress. The state-owned company is currently valued at approximately R $ 60 billion.

According to Martha, the company's capitalization will allow new investments and, “in no way, does it conflict with what happened in Amapá”. Last month, a fire in a private power substation caused a 22-day blackout in 13 of the state's 16 municipalities.

"On the contrary, in the Eletrobras bill, it has resources specifically for modernizing the northern energy park," he said. "In addition to the collection issues that are relevant, the privatization agenda aims to modernize and aggregate many investments in these sectors that are currently in need because they are controlled by state-owned companies, which depend on investments in many cases," he said.

New projects 

This Wednesday, the council also included in the PPI 58 new assets and two policies, such as the relicitation of the concession of the Ferrovia Malha Oeste, transmission auctions and generation of electric energy and support for the environmental licensing of hydroelectric plants and the concession of forests for sustainable management in Amazonas.

Martha Seillier explained that, as well as the projects that are already underway, the forest concession model will be on a sustainable basis, allowing for private exploitation, but providing the forest with the ability to recover over time. "Forest concessions continue to strengthen the region's sustainable development agenda, to curb all illegal activities within these areas, to prevent fires and land grabbing," he said.

In view of the large number of precarious settlements in the country and the housing deficit estimated at around 6.35 million homes, the government will also study a housing policy for social leasing. The pilot project must be structured by the Fund for Support to the Structuring of Concession Projects and PPP of Caixa (FEP Caixa).

With this, the program portfolio now has 201 projects and 15 policies, which are the priorities on the government's agenda for future concessions, privatizations and partnerships with the private sector for public works and services. In addition to them, there are 48 state and municipal projects that are supported by the PPI.

Created in 2016, the PPI Council meets ordinarily three times a year. At today's meeting, the last of 2020, a balance of what was accomplished this year was presented. There were 18 auctions and projects, and another 11 are scheduled until the end of December, including the auction of the national parks of Aparados da Serra (RS) and Serra Geral (SC), for the concession of public services to support visitation and management of the units, and the liquidation of the National Center for Advanced Electronic Technology, a public company that operates in the semiconductor segment.

Investments should reach R $ 3.9 billion, in addition to R $ 4.7 billion in grants to the Union.