An Italian-Brazilian team secured the 30-year O&M concession for the 44-km-long northern section of Brazil’s Sâo Paulo ring road, Trecho Norte do Rodoanel. Italy’s Gruppo Gavio, a strong investor in Italian highways, together with local counterpart, Primav Infraestructura won the bidding by offering an upfront fee of Reais 883 million (US$277 million), 91% above the floor of Reais 462.4 million (US$145 million) set by Artesp, Sâo Paulo Public Transport state regulator.

Gruppo Gavio runs a 1,400-km network of 12 highways in northwest Italy through SIAS, SpA, in which it directly owns 70% of the stock. The remaining 30% is listed on the Milan bourse. Rival Italian firm Atlantia was the only other bidder for Trecho Norte, with an offer 12% above the Artesp floor. The successful Trecho Norte tender underscores Sâo Paulo’s power to draw international highway developers-investors willing to pay premiums to operate its state highways.