The concessionaire Caminhos da Serra Gaúcha S/A received financing of R$100 million from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) to guarantee the company’s liquidity, affected by the extreme climate event that hit Rio Grande do Sul.
The resources will be allocated to working capital to support the dealership’s most immediate liquidity needs.
“The operation is part of the federal government’s efforts to recover from the damage caused by the floods in Rio Grande do Sul. The financial institution is committed to efforts with our partner network,” said the director responsible for the BNDES Emergency Program for Rio Grande do Sul, Maria Fernanda Ramos Coelho.
According to the concessionaire, points of total traffic blockage were recorded on its road network, as well as various types of damage to the road structure, such as landslides, subsidence, cracks and fissures in the pavement, fallen trees, accumulation of water on the road, erosion and obstruction of drainage.
Three mountains
The concessionaire operates 271.54 km that cross three mountain ranges – the Farroupilha Mountain Range, the Antônio Prado Mountain Range and the Carlos Barbosa Mountain Range – and the Caí Valley. The network serves 18 municipalities that have had a state of public calamity declared: Antônio Prado, Bento Gonçalves, Bom Princípio, Campestre da Serra, Capela de Santana, Carlos Barbosa, Caxias do Sul, Farroupilha, Flores da Cunha, Garibaldi, Ipê, Montenegro, Portão, São Leopoldo, São Sebastião do Caí, São Vendelino, Triunfo and Vacaria.
“BNDES, in its effort to support the recovery of Rio Grande do Sul, sought with the operation to guarantee the continuity of the operations of the concessionaire Caminhos da Serra Gaúcha”, highlighted the director of Infrastructure, Energy Transition and Climate Change, Luciana Costa.
The concessionaire initially participated in the emergency release of vehicle flow on its road network. The action focused notably on the barriers that collapsed on the highways, on the bridge heads and on the drainage systems that could not withstand the volume of rain, on the mobilization of all its operational staff, as well as the reinforcement of outsourced personnel, machinery and equipment contracted for these tasks.
