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| - Brazil raked in a larger-than-expected $4 billion Friday auctioning the operating rights to the Rio de Janeiro water and sewer system, a win for President Jair Bolsonaro and his privatization agenda. The far-right leader attended the auction in Sao Paulo, which garnered 22.7 billion reais -- more than double the minimum price -- and came after a legal battle that nearly saw the concession sale canceled. It was the biggest-ever water-treatment auction in Brazil. "The result is in: confidence in Brazil," said ultra-liberal Economy Minister Paulo Guedes after the auction. "Brazil is going to return to growth. We are going to get through both waves," he added, referring to the hit that Latin America's biggest economy has taken from the coronavirus pandemic. Rio's troubled public water company, Cedae, has faced criticism in recent years for the city's sometimes cloudy, smelly and earthy-tasting water. The auction divided it up into four lots by region, one of which failed to sell. The winning bidders gain 35-year concessions to their portions of the Cedae system, which they will be tasked with overhauling and operating. Brazilian firm Aegea, a leader in the water sector, won two of the blocs. The third went to consortium Igua, which includes Canadian pension fund CPP Investments. Under the program, the operators are due to invest another 30 billion reais over 35 years, including a massive clean-up of the iconic beach city's polluted Guanabara Bay and infrastructure for its impoverished favela neighborhoods. lg/jhb/bgs
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