Package includes 8 railways and 13 highways; Ministry of Transport announced new milestone for railway projects
The Ministry of Transport presented this Tuesday (November 25, 2025) the 2026 concession portfolio, considered the largest ever organized by the department. The plan estimates 21 auctions next year: 8 rail and 13 road – with the potential to generate R$804 billion in public and private investments.
This is the 1st cycle already structured under the National Railway Grants Policy, launched jointly by the government. Read the presentation (PDF – 2 MB).
According to the minister (MDB), the objective is to accelerate the expansion of transport infrastructure, increase competition between logistics corridors and unlock projects that, in some cases, had been paralyzed for years.
RAILWAYS
The railway part concentrates the largest financial volume of the portfolio. According to the Ministry of Transport, the planned concessions could mobilize R$140 billion in direct investments in the network and, added to complementary contributions from the private sector, up to R$656 billion throughout the system.
The plan includes new corridors, extension of existing lines and recovery of degraded sections, a movement considered essential to increase the participation of rail in national logistics.
Among the priority projects are:
- Hallway Minas–Rio – 1st in line, with notice scheduled for January and auction in April;
- EF-118 – in two phases, connecting Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro;
- West Mesh – unprecedented concession that combines total revitalization with operational expansion;
- PR–SC corridor e Rio Grande Corridor – aimed at agricultural and industrial flow in the South Region;
- Mercosul Corridor – aligned with logistical integration with Argentina and Uruguay;
- East–West Corridor – planned to support Matopiba’s production;
- Ferrogrão – which has a notice scheduled for May and an auction in September, although it still depends on a decision by the STF.
According to the schedule attached to the plan, notices will be published from January to October 2026, with auctions taking place until April 2027.
HIGHWAYS
In the road sector, the government is betting on a combination of new sections with optimization projects – a model that adjusts existing contracts to expand capacity, reduce bottlenecks and modernize routes.
The portfolio lists 13 concessions, with an expectation of R$148 billion in investments. The first public sessions are scheduled for March.
Among the priority projects are:
- Sertões Route;
- optimization of Régis Bittencourt (BR-116/SP-PR);
- Rotas Gerais, structuring carried out by BNDES;
- Pequi Route, 2 de Julho Route and Arco Norte Route;
- Integrated lots in Santa Catarina, divided between high-flow corridors and port routes;
- Transbrasiliana Highways (BR-153), BR-060/153/DF-GO, BR-116/324/BA, BR-163/MT-PA, among others.
The processes involve public consultations, hearings, analyzes by the TCU (Federal Audit Court) and technical steps conducted by Infra SA and BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), as applicable.
NEW RAILWAY MILESTONE
Although the focus of the package is on auctions, all railway concessions will follow the National Railway Concessions Policy, launched simultaneously with the project portfolio.
The new framework defines the Union’s direct participation in the projects, allowing contributions in reversible assets to reduce risks and balance the concessions’ cash flow.
These resources will be moved through linked accounts under the supervision of ANTT (National Land Transport Agency), with shared governance, and can be combined with financial instruments developed in partnership with BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), including guarantees from FDIRS (Sustainable Regional Infrastructure Development Fund).
The policy also introduces a contractual model considered more modern, with a detailed risk matrix and separation between ordinary and extraordinary risks.
The new rules encourage companies to use infrastructure debentures (financial bonds that help raise money for works) and allow the trains and wagons used in the operation to not need to belong to the project itself, which facilitates sharing and integration between different railways. They also authorize concessionaires to have other sources of revenue, such as the commercial use of areas close to the tracks, to make projects more viable.
Contracts will have faster means of resolving conflicts, such as arbitration and specific committees for disputes. Transport fares will be freely negotiated between companies and users, but will have a maximum limit defined by the regulator and will be reviewed every five years.
Another central change is the responsibility of the granting authority for obtaining the Prior License in priority projects, especially in undertakings greenfield (projects built from scratch, without taking advantage of existing structures). The government states that the measure seeks to reduce judicialization, provide greater legal certainty and accelerate the start of works.
The National Grants Policy also defines guidelines for passenger rail transport, focusing on the reuse of idle or underused sections. The department will set up a specific portfolio to identify pairs of cities with the greatest potential for viability for regional and metropolitan trains.
