TCU, Brazil’s audit court, may evaluate the renewal of two existing Vale railway concessions, including one iron ore railway, SteelOrbis has learned.
A commission within the country’s upper house of the National Congress has approved TCU audit of Vale’s concessions Estrada de Ferro Carajas (EFC), also known as the Carajas iron ore railway, and the Estrada de Ferro Minas Vitoria, which connects Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo states.
The upper house commission said Vale was supposed to pay BRL 4 billion to anticipate the renewal of the railway concessions. The commission members question whether Vale’s obligations to anticipate the renewal of the railways are fair.
“There are no guarantees current owners of the concession will not take advantage of the (the renewal agreements), taking on agreements they would not honor, as we have seen in some of the last road and airport concessions,” said policymaker Ricardo Ferraço, who filed the audit request.