The State Court of Auditors of São Paulo (TCM) has recently revealed that is has suspended the opening session of the economic proposals for the street lighting public-private partnership (PPP) project  in Sao Paulo city, Brazil.

As we reported on February 15, 2016, the municipality of São Paulo received three proposals for the Street lighting project:

• Consórcio FM Rodrigues/CLD, composed of: FM Rodrigues & Cia Ltda. and CLD Construtora, Laços Detetores e Eletrônica Ltda.;
• Consórcio Walks, composed of: KS Brasil Led Holdings Ltda., WPR Participações Ltda. and Quaatro Participações S.A.;
• Consórcio Ecobraslux, composed of: Shanghai Yaming Lighting Co., LTD e Agroenergia do Norte S/A and Santa Edwigis Empreendimentos e Participações S.A.

During the public opening session ceremony held on May 2, 2016 the Consortium FM Rodrigues / CLD requested the immediate suspension of bidding. Its arguments were the following, among others:

• Absence of the insurer's statement on knowledge of the terms and conditions of the tender
• Breach of the notice regarding the possibility of renewal of the tender guarantee
• The absence of the conditions precedent to signing the contract

The Municipal Services, responsible for competition, now has 15 days to present justifications and explanations to the TCM, who will be in charge of the examination of the merits of the process.

Under the PPP contract, the selected bidder would be responsible for the modernization, optimization, expansion, operation and maintenance, as well as the remote control and real-time infrastructure of the city's street lighting infrastructure.

The contract would have a period of 20 years and its estimated value is R$7,3 billion (around US$1.8 billion). The winner would be the team requesting the lowest monthly payment with a ceiling of R$30.16 million (around US$7.45 million).