The first tender involves a topographic survey, with a public session to receive proposals due to be held on August 27. The second tender, which will be opened on August 28, calls for a company to map and register utility networks along the proposed route. At 17.6km long with 15 stations, Line 19-Celeste will run entirely underground and connect Guarulhos, the second most populous city in the state, to central São Paulo. The line will pass areas currently not services by the metro network such as Vila Medeiros and Vila Maria in the north of the city, and is expected to carry more than 500,000 passenger when opened. The state government has made Reais 50m ($US 12.6m) available to develop the studies and the basic project. In 2020, Reais 500m is expected to be made available in preparation for the launch of the public-private partnership (PPP), which will be used for preliminary works. Work is expected to begin in 2021, provided the government is able to cover its portion of the cost of the Reais 15bn project, which will be shared with the private partner. For detailed information on rail projects around the world, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
