Building of the West-East Integration Railroad has begun in BA

The work of the first stretch is part of the new PAC and will have 127 km of rails, with an initial investment of R$ 1.5 billion

In the beginning of July, the first stage of the construction work of FIOL – West-East Integration Railroad was started, which will have one of its parts integrated as the first project of the new PAC (Growth Acceleration Program). In all, the work is composed of three stretches, the first of which (FIOL 1) connects the Bahia cities of Caetité and Ilhéus, covering 537 km in length and passing through 19 municipalities.

Lot 1F is one of the four construction lots of the FIOL 1 stretch and has 127 km of track, along the municipalities of Ilhéus, Uruçuca, Ubaitaba, Gongogi, Itagibá, Aurelino Leal and Aiquara. Works in this lot are receiving an initial investment of around R$ 1.5 billion and are expected to last 36 months.

In its entirety, the FIOL will be approximately 1,527 km long and will link the future Port of Ilhéus, on the Bahian coast, to the municipality of Figueirópolis, in Tocantins, where it will connect to the North-South Railroad. 

Building the first stretch will be carried out by Bamin (Bahia Mineração), which won the concession at an auction. Company acquired the railway stretch in 2021, with a bid of R$ 32.73 million, being the only company at the time to present a bid in the bidding and the value of the concession offered was exactly the minimum determined by the government. Concession is valid for 35 years and the enterprise will be run with private investment.

However, the federal government will be responsible for building the stretch of the work that will link Bahia to Goiás. Until Caetité, will be the part of this concession contract by Bamin, and from Caetité to Mara Rosa, in Goiás, will be handled within the PAC project, expected to be launched by the end of July.

Other stretches are in the following stages: FIOL 2, between Caetité and Barreiras (BA), has works in progress; and FIOL 3, from Barreiras (BA) to Figueirópolis (TO), is awaiting installation license. According to the federal government, this rail integration will consolidate an outflow corridor for ore from the southern region of the state and grain from the western region. When fully operational, the forecast is that there will be an 86% reduction in gas emissions into the atmosphere.

By: Santelmo Camilo