A consortium of state Chinese companies has been awarded, without competition, the tender to build and manage the bridge that connects Salvador and Itaparica Island, as a public-private partnership, the government of the Brazilian state of Bahia said in a statement issued on Friday.

Made up of the China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation, CCCC South America Regional Company and the China Communications Construction Company Limited, the consortium will have a year in which to draw up the project and another four years for its construction.

The management and administration of the bridge will be for a period of 30 years, the investment will be 5.4 billion reais (US$1.314 billion ) and the State’s contribution will be 1.5 billion reais.

The official statement said that 7,000 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the bridge, which will be the second-longest in in Latin America.

The bridge, which will be 12.3 kilometres long, is part of the Brazilian Western Road System, and will shorten the distance between the two points by approximately 100 kilometres, “immediately benefitting 250 municipalities and 10 million people of the regions of the west, southwest, south and far south.”

When completed, it will be the second-largest bridge in Brazil – behind only the Rio-Niterói bridge (12.4 kilometres long) and will have a central deck that is 85 metres high and 400 metres wide, which allows for the entry and exit of ships.

The process was launched on the Stock Exchange (B3), in São Paulo, on 9 December, with the receipt of the proposals from companies interested in building the Salvador – Itaparica island Bridge, and after assessment of the guarantees and other documentation the tender was awarded to the Chinese consortium.