Bidding documents for the PPP project were reissued on September 13 but only the Move São Paulo consortium, comprising Odebrecht, Queiroz Galvão, UTC Participações and investment fund Eco Reality submitted a proposal before the October 31 deadline. The state government announced on November 6 that the consortium had therefore been granted preferred bidder status, and the contract is due to be signed within 45 days.
Move São Paulo submitted a bid of Reais 9.6bn ($US 4.17bn) for the 25-year concession, which is the second PPP rail project in the city. Construction is due to start in the first quarter of next year and full commercial operation will begin by 2020.
Tendering for the 13.5km line began earlier this year, but the contest failed to attract any proposals because bidders perceived legal and technical risks in the project to be excessive.
The north-south Line 6 will have 15 stations and will link Brasilândia with São Joaquim on Line 1. It is considered one of the most difficult metro lines to build because of the need to tunnel beneath the Tietê River at a depth of more than 60m.
The line will serve university campuses and the district of Higienopolis and is expected to carry around 640,000 passengers per day.
