During a public hearing held at Palácio Anchieta, the president of Grupo Petrocity announced the railway installation schedule and requested an exemption from ICMS
By Kikina Sessa
Details about the 2,160-kilometer railway network project of Petrocity Ferrovias, which will connect the North of Espírito Santo to Minas Gerais, the Federal District and Goiás, integrating the Espírito Santo coast to the North-South Railway (Itaqui-Santos), were presented this Wednesday (15), during a public hearing held at the Anchieta Palace, in Vitória.
The Petrocity Group has obtained a concession from the federal government to build and operate four railways that will be used to transport general cargo for export, such as coffee, rocks, wood, ore, cellulose and agricultural bulk (corn, soybeans). Fertilizers, diesel and containers for imports will be transported on the rails.
The expropriations, according to the president of the Petrocity Group, José Roberto Barbosa da Silva, will begin in March, on the stretch from Barra de São Francisco to Mara Rosa, in Goiás.
During the presentation, the group's president requested the state government's support for the project, granting full exemption from payment of the Tax on Circulation of Goods (ICMS), based on the Confaz decision for railway investment projects. He also requested benefits from Invest-ES and Compete-ES.
Present at the hearing, the state governor, Renato Casagrande, said that “we will do everything that depends on the state government, making incentives viable”. Casagrande stressed the importance of the mode of transport to further integrate Espírito Santo with other states in the country and with the world.
The railway complex is being presented to Brazil as the Central-East Corridor, according to the rules of the new Brazilian railway framework: EF-030 – Barra de São Francisco-Brasília; EF-355 – Brasília-Mara Rosa (GO); EF-456 – São Mateus-Barra de São Francisco-Ipatinga; EF-A20 – Corumbá de Goiás-Anápolis and will require a total investment of R$23.4 billion.
The Petrocity Group expects to obtain the preliminary license by November 2026 and begin operations in October 2031. The expected direct workforce at the peak of the railway installation works is around 20,000 workers. The railway network operation is expected to require 1,800 employees.
The entire route will impact 68 municipalities, including São Mateus and Barra de São Francisco, in Espírito Santo. The public hearing was requested by Mayor Enivaldo dos Anjos of Barra de São Francisco. The project also includes the installation of 11 cargo transshipment and storage units (UTAC-dry port) along the railroad.
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