Governor of São Paulo seeks private investments in Europe

While pre-candidates for the municipal elections go hand-to-hand to get votes at the electoral bases, the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), focuses on getting closer to international investors to attract private capital for public works, the main hallmark of his management, within the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI).

Among the characteristics of the portfolio of projects from the state of São Paulo presented to European executives this week are sustainability, within the concept of ESG that has taken over the agenda of companies around the world.

Since Monday (5), Tarcísio has been following a schedule that includes 13 meetings in five days, with international funds and investment companies.

The estimate is to attract more than R$220 billion by 2026 in 20 qualified projects, with 44 auctions linked to infrastructure, transport, mobility, energy and sanitation.

Of these, 13 concession auctions are scheduled for 2024 at B3, including the North Axis Intercity Train, which will connect the city of São Paulo to Campinas; road and railway infrastructure concessions and partnerships; the privatizations of the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of São Paulo (Sabesp) and the Metropolitan Water and Energy Company (Emae). “With organization and good management practices, São Paulo presents itself as one of the most promising development hubs not only in Latin America, but throughout the world”, said Tarcísio.

On Monday (5), on the first day of the trip, the group was in Madrid, Spain, with executives from Activateswhich has been operating in Brazil for over 25 years and is responsible for the construction of São Paulo metro line 6-orange.

Afterwards, the governor of São Paulo met with the vice-president of the group Santander in Spain and went to a meeting with executives from Sacyra Spanish group that operates in the global concessions, engineering and infrastructure market and is leading the expansion works on metro line 2-green.

On Tuesday (6), the São Paulo delegation was in Milan, Italy, where they met with executives from the group Gavio, main shareholder of EcoRodovias, the largest operator of road concessions in the country. In the state of São Paulo, the group operates in the northwest of São Paulo, made up of 600 kilometers of highways, and also in the Anchieta-Imigrantes system. The group is the world’s largest operator of highways within concession or partnership programs and operates 6,500 kilometers in sections in Italy, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

Still in Milan, the governor of São Paulo met with executives from the group Ghella, which operates in the infrastructure, sanitation and supply sectors and one of the construction companies for the expansion of line 2-green of the São Paulo metro. Among the topics, the São Paulo delegation stated that there is a tendency towards greater competitiveness in auctions that target investments for São Paulo.

Tarcísio’s trip ends with meetings in Paris

This Wednesday (7), the international mission of the government of São Paulo begins the third and final stage of the roadshow looking for investments in Europe.

Over the next three days, Tarcísio and state authorities will meet with businesspeople and bankers in Paris. The first business rounds in the capital of France take place with representatives of Keolisa multinational specialized in mobility and transport, and the Dutch company Tech Tunnelengineering and design of tunnels.

On Thursday (8), it will be time to meet with executives from BNP Paribas and the French group Vinci, the world’s leading private airport operator that also operates with highway, energy and construction concessions. In 2021, the group Vinci surprised by winning the North Block I, with seven airports, at a B3 auction. Still on Thursday, the São Paulo government will meet with the manufacturer of vehicles and public transport systems Alstom.

On Friday (9), the last day of the trip, Tarcísio will meet with investors from the French fund specialized in infrastructure and energy projects Stoaand with the public transport multinational Transdev.