WASHINGTON, D.C., June 10—The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced the signing of an agreement with Companhia do Metropolitano de Sao Paulo-METRO (METRO) through which IFC will serve as principal advisor for the structuring and implementation of a US$2 billion project to create a new subway line (the Line 4 Project).
METRO provides mass transit services the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo, carrying 700 million passengers a year on three subway lines, totaling 44 kilometers. The increasing demand for cleaner air, lower traffic fatalities and public transportation in the Sao Paulo region has fueled the need for a more extensive system. In response, the State government has undertaken a multi-phase expansion program which will extend the existing lines and add two new subway lines, including the Line 4 Project.
"Sao Paulo's expansion has placed increasing demands on urban transport," said Paul Hinchey, Director of IFC's Corporate Finance Services Department, a specialty department responsible for stand-alone, fee-based advisory services. "The project will attract private capital and establish linkages with subway and railway lines, as well as bus lines which are already under private concessions."
The underground project will involve 13 kilometers of line connecting the central business district with key residential, medical and university areas, which will finally be served by mass transit. IFC will act as principal advisor directing a team of legal and technical consultants throughout the structuring, consultation and bidding process.
IFC is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and is a multilateral source of equity, loan financing and financial advisory services for private sector projects in developing countries.