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Brazil's São Paulo state audit court TCE has suspended the Rs4.7 billion (US$2.1 billion) public-private partnership tender to concession the Bronze Line 18 metro PPP.

One of the reasons for the cancellation of the tender process has been the choice of the monorail technology. According to the TCE, only two firms could provide it, Canada's Bombardier Transportation and Japan's Hitachi.

On April 9, the State of São Paulo, through the Secretaria dos Transportes Metropolitanos (STM), announced that it had extended the deadline for the project.

The PPP contract included construction, operation and maintenance of civil works and systems of line 18. The necessary rolling stock was also to be provided and maintained by the concessionaire.

The monorail would connect the municipalities of Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo and São Caetano do Sul to the metropolitan region of São Paulo.

The future concessionaire would be responsible for 12 stations on Line 18 (with span of 14,355 km) and the maintenance facilities.

The length of the contract would be 25 years, 4 years for the implementation of the project and 21 years of operation. The government would fund 50 % of the investment (around US$780 million).

The structuring of the PPP project was carried in collaboration with the private sector, via Procedure of Expression of Interest (PMI). Four companies delivered the feasibility studies requested by the state. However, only part of the studies received were used for the final structuring of the contract: 34.38% from Invepar - Construtora Queiroz Galvão - Bombardier's study and 46.38 % from Odebrecht's study. The studies submitted by other bidders were not used.