Skip to main content

Brazil-Spain group could lose highway contract

An engineering consortium made up of Brazil's Mendes Junior and Spain's Isolux Corsán could be stripped of its US$208 million contract to build part of the northern stretch of the Mario Covas beltway surrounding the city of São Paulo. The consortium, led by Mendes Junior, is having difficulty honouring commitments due to a lack of cash flow and, according to São Paulo state highway company Dersa, it is not completing works according to the contract schedule signed in January 2013, local paper Folha de Sã
April 10, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSA consortium of Brazil's 6871 Mendes Junior and Spain's 1954 Isolux Corsán could lose its US$208 million contract to build part of the northern section of the Mario Covas beltway around the Brazilian city of São Paulo.

The consortium, led by Mendes Junior, is falling behind schedule because of cash flow problems, according to São Paulo state highway company 5947 Dersa. The deal was signed in January 2013, local paper Folha de São Paulo reported.

If matters do not improve this month, "it is very likely that we will terminate our agreement based on a breach of contract," Dersa president Laurence Casagrande was quoted as saying.

The 180km Rodoanel Mário Covas beltway is partially with a radius of around 23km from the geographical centre of Sao Paulo. It was named after Mário Covas, mayor of the city between 1983–1985 and a state governor from 1994-2001 until his death from cancer. It is a controlled access highway with a speed limit of 100kph.

The northern segment is the last of the bletway’s four sections to be built. Construction of Dersa’s stretch of the northern section was originally scheduled to be completed last year but was rescheduled to January 2016. However, at the beginning of this year, Dersa pushed back the completion date to the first half of 2017.

If terminated, Dersa could transfer the work to local construction company 4740 Odebrecht, which submitted the next best offer for the contract. If not, a new tender for the remaining work could be launched, according to the news report.

Mendes Junior is one of many engineering companies under investigated by the federal government's so called car wash corruption probe.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Mexican highway concession awarded
    June 13, 2014
    A consortium led by Peru’s Mota-Engil has won the tender for Mexico's Cardel-Poza Rica highway concession, transport and communications ministry (SCT) has announced. The 30-year concession covers construction and operation of a 129 kilometre stretch of highway between Laguna Verde and Gutiérrez Zamora, improving connections in the coastal region of Veracruz state as well as connections to Veracruz port, according to tender documents. Works are expected to complete in 2017.
  • Egis expands in Brazil
    November 28, 2014
    International engineering group Egis has furthered its development strategy with the acquisition of Sao Paulo-based engineering firm Lenc. The acquisition allows Egis to become one of the foremost engineering firms in Brazil, offering a comprehensive range of services in urban development, regional planning and multi-modal transport, whilst also consolidating its international business activities in one of the most promising countries in the world. Established in 1975, Lenc is one of the leaders in th
  • No in-road equipment for Queensland's free flow toll bridge
    February 1, 2012
    By May this year, the new Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, which is being built alongside an existing bridge, will be open. With it will come an end-to-end free-flow tolling system. Interview with Sue Caelers, Queensland Motorway Ltd. Queensland Motorways Ltd owns and operates 61km of roadway in the area around Brisbane, Australia. This includes the Gateway Bridge and the Gateway Extension, Logan and Port of Brisbane motorways.
  • Chinese and Japanese involvement in Indonesian toll roads
    April 17, 2012
    Firms from China and Japan will carry out toll road construction projects in Indonesia in partnership with local companies. The Chinese companies CSEC and CHEC will team up with Indonesian firm Hutama Karya for the Medan-Kualanamu-Tebing Tinggi toll road project. This 17km toll road project is due for completion in early 2014 and will cost in the order of US$152 million to complete. A loan worth $137 million is being provided for the project from Chinese sources while over $15 million will be provided by th