Sanitation auctions this month to draw R$8bn
December will have a set of basic sanitation auctions, which may draw R$8.3 billion in investments. The main projects are those in Alagoas and Rio de Janeiro, which ended up with no interested parties in the April auction and are now back on the block with a new version. Besides them, four other smaller bids are scheduled, for the operation of cities such as Teresópolis (Rio de Janeiro) and Goianésia (Goiás).The market’s main expectation is for the auctions of regional blocks in Alagoas and Rio de Janeiro, which gather the bulk of the investments and should attract the sector’s major operators.The Alagoas projects, to be auctioned on December 13, are expected to draw strong competition as at least eight groups have studied the assets. Two regional blocks will be bid for in the state. Lot B includes 34 cities in the Agreste and Sertão regions, while Lot C brings together 27 cities on the coast and Zona da Mata.In all, around R$2.9 billion in investments are foreseen, over 35 years of contracts. The winner will be the one who offers the highest fixed payment - the minimum amounts are relatively low, only R$3.3 million for Block B and R$32.4 million for Block C.The state of Alagoas already has a regional concession underway. The first lot, in the metropolitan region of the capital city Maceió, was bid for in September 2020 and won by BRK Ambiental. For this reason, the group is seen as a strong contender - although the company has seen a much more inhibited participation in the most recent auctions.Equatorial Energia is expected to take part, as well as traditional operators like Aegea Saneamento, Iguá Saneamento and Águas do Brasil. Equatorial debuted in the sanitation market in June by winning the Amapá auction with a very aggressive bid.There are also expectations around some companies that do not yet have contracts in the sector, but that have already entered the disputes. In the Amapá bidding, for example, different companies have already participated, such as Allonda, Encalso Construções and Cymi (a company of the Spanish group ACS, which already operates in Brazil).For Mariana Saragoça, partner at Stocche Forbes, these are well-modeled contracts, which already bring improvements in relation to the first regional auctions. "There was a learning process. For example, the issue of the division of the fixed payments with the municipalities, which generated questions, this time was equated to mitigate this risk." She evaluates that the good...
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