SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A consortium with Brazilian firm Comporte and a subsidiary of Beijing-based company CRRC was the only bidder and won an auction on Thursday for a 30-year concession to build a railway that would link the cities of Sao Paulo and Campinas.
The bid stood at the minimum possible by the auction rules, as the consortium, which is led by Comporte, offered a 0.01% discount over the nearly 8 billion reais ($1.61 billion) Sao Paulo's government will invest in the project.
The project is expected to be ready in 2031 and the trains will run at an average speed of 95 kilometers per hour (59 mph) once complete.
The auction also includes the building of another railroad connecting the cities of Jundiai and Campinas, both in Sao Paulo state, and the operation of a train line now under state control.
Total investments to build the project are estimated at about 14 billion reais.
($1 = 4.9711 reais)