Close on the heels of a US$3.7-billion investment in Brazilian hydropower, China is circling its first Brazilian highway, a 624-km stretch of federal road BR 153 that is now operated by a financially distressed Brazilian concessionaire who is charged in the Lava Jato-Petrobras corruption scandal.

The distressed concessionaire, Brazilian engineering and construction firm Gâlvao Engenharia, is under a government ultimatum to restart construction on the highway or else forfeit the concession.