Government charges R$25.7 billion from Vale for railway renovation

The Ministry of Transport is charging Vale for R$25.7 billion in unpaid grants in the early renewal of highway concessions that occurred during the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The notification refers to the Carajás and Vitória-Minas railways and was sent last Friday (26).

The company MRS Logística was also sued with a charge of R$3.7 billion.

The notifications, signed by the Minister of Transport, Renan Filho, are based on a recommendation made by the Federal Audit Court (TCU) based on an agreement reached between the federal government and Rumo, in which the company committed to paying R$1.5 billion.

The court understood that the company mistakenly discounted from the grant value unamortized assets invested in the concession at the time of the early renewal of Malha Paulista, which took place in 2020.

The government wants to use jurisprudence to collect what was deducted from the concessions by Vale in Carajás (R$ 21.1 billion) and in Vitória-Minas (R$ 4.6 billion) and by MRS on railways in Minas Gerais (R$ 3.7 billion).

“In practice, this means that companies will need to present measures to return what was unduly deducted from the grant as unamortized assets in order to reimburse the country. The court understands that these assets need to be deducted as a cost over the 35 years of the new contract signed following the renewals”, explained Renan Filho on his social networks.

According to him, the notifications are the result of “months of hard work and practically exclusive dedication by a valuable team” from the Ministry of Transport.

According to the newspaper “O Estado de S.Paulo”, which had access to the documents, the Ministry of Transport gave companies 15 days to inform “the measures adopted to comply with the rite determined by the TCU, with a view to restoring the treasury compensation for unamortized assets deducted from the grant at the time of the early extension addendum”.

If there is no agreement, the ministry intends to take the discussion to the TCU, with representation against the companies, alleging that the early renewal harmed public coffers.

Vale informed that it received the notification and that it will analyze the document. “The company continues to fulfill its obligations arising from the early renewal of the Estrada de Ferro Vitória a Minas and Estrada de Ferro Carajás railways in 2020, having delivered 100% of Fiol’s cross commitment and acquired the necessary equipment to expand the passenger train offer. ”, he said in a note to the publication.

The notification to Vale was sent on the same day that the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) reportedly gave up on nominating former Finance Minister Guido Mantega for the presidency of the mining company. On the same day, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, said that at Vale “things are very slow”. Despite this, allies say the events are unrelated.

On Thursday (25), the president himself criticized Vale. In a post on the social network X, he recalled the 5th anniversary of the Brumadinho tragedy, in Minas Gerais. “Five years and Vale has done nothing to repair the destruction caused,” said the PT member.