THE NEW BIDDING LAW OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND PREVENT SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

The New Bidding Law of April 2021 in Brazil provides an opportunity to enhance infrastructure planning by detailing preliminary technical studies. CPI/PUC-Rio recommends using this framework to introduce a formal pre-feasibility analysis to filter out high-risk or infeasible projects. While the law increases transparency via a centralized website and expands the oversight role of legal advisory bodies and courts of accounts, it is criticized for reducing mandatory social participation in the bidding process.

• The New Bidding Law passed in April 2021 introduces more detailed requirements for preliminary technical studies, which CPI/PUC-Rio suggests should be treated as a new planning stage to improve project quality and reduce socio-environmental risks.
• CPI/PUC-Rio proposes the implementation of a pre-feasibility analysis during the preparatory phase of bidding. This process would use 10 structuring questions and a socio-environmental complexity assessment to determine if a project should proceed, thereby preventing infeasible projects from reaching the bidding phase.
• The new law expands the role of legal advisory bodies, such as the federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU), by requiring them to assess the entire preparatory phase of the bidding process rather than just the final drafts of notices and contracts.
• The New Bidding Law designates courts of accounts as entities responsible for risk management and preventive control, including socio-environmental risks. This formalizes a practice already used by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) for Investment Partnerships Program (PPI) projects.
• While the law improves transparency by mandating a single official website for bidding documents and referring to the Freedom of Information Act, it reduces social participation by only encouraging, rather than requiring, public hearings and consultations.
• The law establishes priority for the environmental licensing of construction works, though this may only apply two years after the law's entry into force, during which time the previous bidding law remains an option for the Administration.
• CPI/PUC-Rio recommends that future regulatory decrees mandate the public release of specific preparatory documents on the official website, including preliminary technical studies, EVTEA, pre-feasibility analyses, and legal advisory assessments.

APA

COZENDEY, G., & CHIAVARI, J. (2021). THE NEW BIDDING LAW OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND PREVENT SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NT-The-New-Bidding-Law.pdf

Chicago

COZENDEY, GABRIEL, and JOANA CHIAVARI. THE NEW BIDDING LAW OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND PREVENT SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. Climate Policy Initiative, 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NT-The-New-Bidding-Law.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=COZENDEY |first1=GABRIEL |last2=CHIAVARI |first2=JOANA |title=THE NEW BIDDING LAW OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND PREVENT SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=May 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NT-The-New-Bidding-Law.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cozendey2021new, author = {COZENDEY, GABRIEL and CHIAVARI, JOANA}, title = {{THE NEW BIDDING LAW OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND PREVENT SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NT-The-New-Bidding-Law.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }