Caldas Novas Transmissora

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In December 2010, Consorcio Caldas Novas was awarded in a competitive bidding process the contract to build and operate the Corumba Substation, located at the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Consorcio Caldas Novas was established as a partnership of the state-owned Brazilian company Furnas (49,9%), and the Brazilian companies Desenvix Energias Renovaveis SA (25%), Construtora Santa Rita Comercio e Instalacoes (12,525%) e CEL Engenharia (12,535%). Four other companies took part in the contest: ?? ABENGOA CONCESSOES BRASIL HOLDING S/ A; ALUPAR INVESTIMENTO S/A; CONSORCIO PIRINEUS; and ORTENG EQUIPAMENTOS E SISTEMAS. The bidding criteria set by the regulatory agency ANEEL was the lowest required annual revenue. Consorcio Caldas Novas presented the lowest offer, a total value of US$ 1.8 million (BRL 3.3 million), 20% below the ceiling set by the regulatory agency. The contract was signed in May 2012, and the sponsor created the company Caldas Novas Transmissora S.A. to lead the project during the 30-year contract period. The sponsor committed to invest US$ 9.9 million (BRL 23.3 million) in the transmission line. In December 2013, Caldas Novas Transmissora was awarded a US$ 6.9 million (BRL 16.2) million loan from the state-owned bank BNDES. Environmental clearance was awarded in early 2013. Construction works commenced in May 2012 and were concluded by August 2013. Commercial operations started in August 2013. The company was granted the right to take part in the government program called Regime Especial de Incentivos para o Desenvolvimento da Infra-Estrutura (Reidi). Companies selected to take part in this program were given tax cuts in the acquisition of capital equipment and construction material acquired both in the domestic and international markets (this incentive represented a cost reduction of about 9.25%). In addition, the company was allowed to use accelated depreciation methods of accounting for construction expenditures.