Equipav Agropecuária e Irrigação obtained authorization from the Ministry of Regional Development (MIDR) to raise R$ 555 million in the market through the issuance of incentivized debentures for the Baixio do Irecê Irrigation project. The announcement was made at an event this Thursday (24) in Baixio do Irecê, Bahia, attended by Minister Waldez Góes and the State Governor, Jerônimo Rodrigues.
According to the MIDR Minister, Waldez Góes, the Baixio do Irecê irrigation project is the largest in Latin America, and Brazil has the potential for 55 million hectares. “You can understand how significant this one is and the size of this agenda considering the Northeast, Central Brazil, and all regions in the country. We are increasingly counting on companies that already have a history, that already has expertise, that are already within the updating of the most diverse technological forms already applicable. Governance must come first, and that alone can make good projects for public-private partnerships possible”, highlighted the Minister.
The resources will be applied in the implementation of the initial stages of the project won by Equipav Agropecuária e Irrigação through an auction held at B3, in São Paulo, in June 2022. The area encompasses 51,000 hectares, of which 31,000 are irrigable. The company plans to invest around R$ 1 billion over the 35 years of the concession.
It is estimated that more than 250,000 people will benefit, directly and indirectly, in the area covered by the project, which comprises the municipalities of Irecê, Xique-Xique, and Itaguaçu da Bahia in the São Francisco Valley in northwest Bahia.
The venture is the largest irrigation project in Latin America. It is considered strategic by the Development Company of the São Francisco and Parnaíba Valleys (Codevasf), responsible for the concession, to promote the sustainable development of the semiarid region of the Northeast.
