BRASILIA: Brazilian authorities on Thursday postponed bidding for a high-speed train between Brazil’s largest cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, making completion for the 2016 Olympics more difficult.
Brazil’s National Agency of Terrestrial Transports (ANTT) said the deadline, which had been Monday, was pushed back to July 29 at the request of potential bidders.
This was the second delay for bids for the big rail system, which at one point was slated for completion for Brazil’s hosting of the football World Cub in 2014, but may be in doubt for the 2016 Olympics in the South American nation.
ANTT director Bernardo Figueiredo said the delay was because some of the bidders wanted to “make adjustments” in their proposals but that he still expected work to begin as planned in the second half of 2012.
The Brazilian government last year estimated the cost of the system at 33 billion reals (around $20 billion), in a project that has attracted interest from companies from Europe to Asia.