Conasa Infraestrutura has won the competitive auction for the Rota Arco Norte highway concession in Brazil, retaining control of the existing Via Brasil BR-163 concessionaire. The 20-year concession covers approximately 1,010km of the BR-163 and BR-230 highways across the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Pará. The route connects Sinop in Mato Grosso with Itaituba in Pará, providing an important transport corridor for agricultural products, particularly soybeans and maize, from Brazil's central-western farming regions to export terminals in the north. The highways provide access to important port facilities, including Miritituba, Itapacurá and Santarenzinho.

The concession agreement has been restructured following financial and operational difficulties experienced under the previous contract. The revised agreement includes a substantial programme of highway upgrades and capacity improvements. Planned works include the duplication of 245.8km of highway, the construction of 118.23km of additional traffic lanes and 30.64km of marginal roads. The programme also includes three dedicated rest and parking facilities for truck drivers, alongside improvements to road junctions, bridges, viaducts and other safety infrastructure. These upgrades are intended to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and accidents, and increase the capacity of the corridor to accommodate growing freight volumes.

The project also includes improvements to connections between the highways and port facilities in Pará. The investment programme provides for approximately 34.48km of port access roads, including a 14.75km connection to Itapacurá Port via the BR-230 and a 19.73km connection to Santarenzinho Port via the BR-163. These improvements are expected to strengthen freight links between agricultural production centres and export terminals, helping to reduce transport bottlenecks and improve the efficiency of Brazil's northern logistics network.

Under the restructured agreement, Conasa will be responsible for delivering the investment programme and maintaining the highway infrastructure throughout the concession period, while ANTT will oversee regulatory compliance, monitor construction progress and supervise service quality. The revised arrangement is intended to provide a more sustainable framework for the concessionaire while ensuring improvements in road capacity, safety and transport efficiency. It is also expected to strengthen Brazil's agricultural export infrastructure by improving access between the country's major grain-producing regions and the ports of the Arco Norte corridor.