Federal deputies will have until December 9 to suggest changes to the text of the new legal framework for concessions and public-private partnerships in Brazil (PL 7.063 / 17). The special committee responsible for analyzing the topic approved the opinion of the rapporteur, Arnaldo Jardim (Cidadania-SP). The next step now is the plenary vote. The PL brings changes to the current rules, including the expansion of arbitration in contracts; the establishment of a dispute resolution committee and the possibility for concessions to be simplified or joint.

According to Jardim, the opinion was built after a "long" dialogue with representatives of the sector, with deputies and with the government. The congressman was also in Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Salvador to discuss points of the proposal. "We receive entities and leaders, and our full conviction is that it is a complex matter, but indispensable for the resumption of infrastructure investments, read, growth of the country," he argues.

For Deputy Odair Cunha (PT-MG), it will be positive for the country to have a single reference, a compilation of all aspects involving concessions in Brazil. "Just because you have a single law, a general law, which will be a single source for the entire framework of long-term relationships, long-term contractual relations, creates important legal certainty at a time when the country needs to attract investment," he said.

The text was called by the rapporteur of the General Concessions Law (LGC). With 224 articles, the project is considered the largest change in government-private sector concessions and partnership legislation in the past 29 years.

The increased use of arbitration in contracts is among the major changes. Arbitration is a way of resolving conflicts and disputes related to the economic-financial balance. The text also enables the use of a dispute resolution committee. In addition, it also creates two concession models: the simplified, for lower value and faster projects; and the joint, where more than one service is involved.

Public administration expert Ricardo Corrêa Gomes explains that PPPs - a are a way for the government to make investments and optimize services through private initiative. “The beneficiary would be the citizen, the society. As the government cannot provide this service, resources are scarce, needs are unlimited and growing, and more sophisticated, society needs to evolve, both society and government, to meet the demands ”, he ponders.

Also according to Corrêa Gomes, the success of PPPs depends on the control and supervision over the contract. For the expert, the PL will help in this process. "That's the big question. If the contract is not done well, if the terms do not have control mechanisms to ensure that this will happen, it may not happen, ”he warns. The text of PL 7063 provides for recovery plan and correction of failures in case of intervention or forfeiture.