Japan’s Mitsui is to establish a joint venture with Odebrecht Transport as it looks to pursue urban railway projects in Brazil.
Between now and December 2014, Mitsui will invest BRL 500 million (€156.3 million) in acquiring 40 per cent of the new joint venture which will specialise in concession and public-private partnership (PPP) subway and light rail projects.
The partnership will bring in foreign investment to upgrade existing, and develop new, transport infrastructure in Brazil.
Odebrecht Transport is a subsidiary of Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht.
The new business will include Odebrecht Transport’s stakes in Rio de Janeiro’s commuter network operator, SuperVia, Move São Paulo – the consortium building São Paulo Line 6 – Orange metro line – and light rail projects VLT Carioca (Rio de Janeiro) and VLT Goiânia (GO).
Paul Cesena, president of Odebrecht TransPort, said the joint venture ‘brings to Brazil the knowledge, innovation and a major international technology company in this sector and open dialogue with Japanese top-level business channels’.
The deal is subject to approval by the Brazilian Trade Commission.
