This Wednesday (7th), the State Government deposited R$ 250 million in the Guarantee Fund for the construction of the Salvador-Itaparica Bridge (Western Highway System). This is part of the commitment signed in the contract that provides for the implementation over the next five years of one of the most emblematic Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the country. The 12.4-kilometer-long facility, which will be the largest water bridge in Latin America, will involve an investment of R$ 5.4 billion and a total government contribution of R$ 1.5 billion.
The construction will be carried out by the consortium that won the tender held in 2020, formed by the companies China Communications Construction Company (CCCC Ltd), CCCC South America Regional Company (CCCCSA) and China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation (CR20). The project is expected to start at the end of 2021 and will last for four years.
The construction is expected to create approximately 8,000 jobs. The new structure will directly benefit 4.4 million people in the Salvador Metropolitan Region (RMS) and indirectly more than 5.4 million in 100 municipalities of Recôncavo and Baixo-Sul (Deep South) of Bahia.
According to a study conducted using World Bank methodology, once fully operational, this project is expected to generate a return on public investment of up to 3.6 times. According to Governor Rui Costa, this is a project that “will give a strong boost to the economy of the whole state, reducing distances and creating a new development axis from Salvador to the West, generating more income and more jobs for people in Bahia during and after the construction phase”.
The bridge will have a four-lane highway with breakdown lanes and an 860m cable-stayed section. Once completed, the Chinese Consortium will be responsible for maintaining and managing the system for the next 30 years.
At the beginning of its operation, the bridge is expected to carry 28,000 vehicles per day. The bridge will be located in Salvador, in the neighborhood of Água de Meninos. On the island of Itaparica, the bridge approach will be located in the region of Gameleira.
Including the Salvador-Itaparica Bridge, Bahia has nine ongoing PPP contracts and 40 administrative concessions, totaling more than R$15 billion invested. Among the most important ongoing PPP contracts are those for the Salvador-Lauro de Freitas metro and the Hospital do Subúrbio. The latter was the first PPP in the healthcare sector in Brazil and is now recognized as a project of excellence, having already received four international awards, including the United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA).
In addition to the ongoing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts in the Bahia, there are those for Diagnostic Imaging and the Couto Maia Institute, both in the health sector. Contracts also exist for the Fonte Nova Arena, the Salvador Submarine Outfall, the Light Rail Vehicle (VLT) in the Salvador suburb, and BA-052.
(Source: Secom/State Government)