Brazil reaches $7.6 billion deal to renew key railway concession run by VLI

By Lisandra Paraguassu

BRASILIA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Brazil's government has reached a deal for the early renewal of a key railway concession that connects parts of the country's Center-Western and Northeast regions to ports in the Southeast, Transport Minister Renan Filho told Reuters.

The agreement extends the Centro-Atlantica Railway (FCA) concession by 30 years, and includes about 40 billion reais ($7.61 billion) in investments from its operator VLI, which has Canadian asset manager Brookfield BAM.N and Brazilian miner Vale VALE3.SA as shareholders.

KEY DETAILS

• "An understanding was reached," Filho said, calling the deal the largest ever individual railway investment in Brazil.

• Brazil's audit court TCU still has to approve the deal, he added.

• VLI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deal.

• The railway currently transports key products such as soybeans, fertilizers, fuels and minerals.

• A study on VLI's website said that investments from the concession renewal could increase the railway's cargo volume by nearly 50%.

($1 = 5.2531 reais)