The São Paulo Government Partnerships Program won international recognition with three nominations for the P3 Awards 2021, a traditional award in the infrastructure area that took place on Wednesday (23) in New York, whose objective is to highlight the best projects in concessions and PPPs (public-private partnerships) in the Americas.
The Piracicaba to Panorama highway concession (Lote PiPa) received the High Commendation in the best transport project of the year category. The modeling was developed by the Undersecretariat of Partnerships and by Artesp (Transport Agency of the State of São Paulo), with support from the IFC (International Finance Corporation).
Lote PiPa is a milestone in the Brazilian infrastructure market as the largest network ever tendered in the country, with 1,200 kilometers of 12 highways, passing through 62 municipalities in the state, being also the largest transaction in Brazil in the road sector, with investments of R$ 14 billion and generation of 7 thousand new direct and indirect jobs.
The concession also stands out for its contractual innovations, combining new road sections with existing projects, with concessions that were about to end. In the case of Lote PiPa, 280 kilometers were previously under the responsibility of Centrovias, with a history of reliable and stable traffic, which represented around 50% of the project’s expected revenues. “The use of this asset mitigated the risks and increased the safety and sustainability of the project”, explained the Undersecretary for Partnerships, Tarcila Reis.
“The contract was signed on May 15, 2020 with payment of the grant, at a time of economic crisis, due to one of the peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic. The concessionaire’s operation began in June 2020, with investments of R$ 1.5 billion in the first two years of the contract, being an important tool for the development of infrastructure and economic recovery of the State”, said the Institutional Director of Artesp, Rodrigo Barata.
Also according to Barata, in addition to economic innovations, PiPa brings important technological and safety innovations for the sector. It is the first grant using the iRAP methodology – an internationally recognized methodology to increase road safety. It also incorporates the DUF (Frequent User Discount), an unprecedented model in Brazil for reducing the toll rate according to the greater number of passages through the square within each month.
In this year’s awards, the Undersecretary of Partnerships competed in two other categories, being a finalist for Best Public Sector Team and Infrastructure Personality of the Year, with the nomination of Undersecretary Tarcila Reis. The Government of São Paulo also had an exclusive panel on the main program of the event, in which the State Partnerships Program was presented as a success story on concessions and partnerships in Brazil.
“Being among the finalists in the P3 Awards is proof of the excellence and reliability of the Government of São Paulo in the development of concession and PPP projects”, highlighted Tarcila Reis. This was the third time that the State competed for the award. In 2019, it won the P3 Awards in the Best Financial Structuring category in the transport area with the road concession for Lote Centro-Oeste. In 2020, it competed in the Best Social Infrastructure categories, with the Hospital Complexes PPP Project and Best Public Sector Team.
More information about the PD3 Awards: https://www.p3awards.com/winners-2021.
