b'6American Journal of Transportation ajot.com(BUILDINGcontinuedgranted funding to So Paulosdemands,andreducetrafficitscurrent107millionpas- consultancy services.from page 4) public rail operator, Compan- congestionandgreenhousesengers per year. The airportAs is the case elsewhere, The agency says that it gener- hiaPaulistadeTrensMet- gas emissions. concessionprogrampresentsthe future of Brazils economy ates $121 in U.S. exports forropolitanos(CPTM),foraaremarkableopportunityforin the near term will depend every dollar it invests. feasibilitystudytooptimizeB razilsa irPort U.S. suppliers of airport prod- onitssuccessincombating ABRADEEwillusethetheflowofitsthree-millionP rivatization ucts and services, said the ITAthespreadoftheCOVID-USTDAfundingtoassessdaily passengers using infor- The privatization of Bra- report. The ITA estimates that19pandemic.Inthatregard, public policies and economicmationandcommunicationszils airports, which has beenthe 53 airports will require overBrazils economy is likely to regulations,withaneyetechnologysolutions.Railongoingsince2012,repre- $440millionininvestmentshave benefitted from a rise in towardsfacilitatinginvest- operatorsaroundtheworldsentsanotheropportunityover the next decade. the pace of COVID-19 vacci-mentsandencouragingtheareturningtobigdataana- forU.S.companies,accord- Despitethebigcrisisnations, noted Akrur Barua, modernizationofelectricitylytics,artificialintelligence,ing to the ITA. While 23 offacing the airline industry duea Deloitte manager, with the distribution networks.andtheInternetofThingsthe countrys largest airportsto the coronavirus, the reportnumber of new cases declin-The USTDA grant will allowtoimproveoperationaleffi- have already been privatized,added,expertsseeappetiteing steadily since the end of Brazilian electricity distribu- ciency,saidEbong.UST- 53 regional airports are nowfrominvestorsforregionalJune. As of the end of Sep-tors, said Marcos Madureira,DAsassistancewillutilizeundergoing the same process.airports. After the end of thistember,accordingtopub-presidentofABRADEE,toU.S. private sector expertiseBrazilhasrecentlycon- healthcrisis,itisexpectedlished reports, 42% of Brazils learn how the United StatestohelpCPTMnavigateacluded a round of airport con- the public will tend to opt forpopulation had been fully vac-has developed smart grids andcomplicated field of optionscessions, a recent ITA reportshort-rangetripsortravelbycinated, up from just 12% in regulatory best practices. Itand to identify solutions. noted,thatsignalsexcitingprivate jets, which are servedJune, and 70% has received at also represents an opportu- CPTM will use USTDAsopportunitiesforU.S.com- byregionalairports.Oppor- least one vaccine dose. nity to collaborate with U.S.assistance to develop a planpaniesinterestedinpartici- tunitiesforU.S.companiesBesides that good news, industry and will allow usthat will identify and imple- pating in the expansion of theflowing from the privatizationBarua added, a healthy eco-toanticipatepotentialchal- mentinformationandcom- countrys system of airports. ofBrazilsregionalairportsnomic boost to Brazil will lenges and identify solutionsmunicationstechnologiesTheBrazilianCivil Avia- include providing docking sys- likely come from reforms in that will work for Brazil. totransformthecarrierstion Secretariat (SAC) predictstems, baggage systems, a rangetaxation and administration, Ultimately,saidEnohinfrastructure. The technolo- thatthedomestictravelseg- ofsafetyandsecurityequip- aswellasfromprograms Ebong,USTDAsactinggieswillhelpCPTMiden- mentwillincreaseby200%ment, such as x-ray machines,designed to increase foreign director, this effort will helptifyrisks,analyzetraveloverthenext20yearsfromanddesign,integration,andinvestment.transformhowelectricityis distributed to the majority of Brazils consumers.In the transportation sector, USTDA-fundedtechnical assistance for Brazils National Association of Passenger Rail Operators (Associao Nacio-naldosTransportadoresde PassageirossobreTrilhos, orANPTrilhos),announced inSeptember,willhelp ANPTrilhosinitseffortsto assess energy efficiency solu-tionssuchasenergystorage and automation software that willreduceemissionsand costs and improve energy effi-ciency across its rail systems. TwoUSTDAgrantsto ANTPtrilhosannouncedear-lier this year are funding the developmentoftwotechni-calassistanceplans,onefor energyefficiencyandthe other for enterprise asset man-agement.U.S.companies offerworld-leadingsolutions in this space and are eager to partner with Brazil as it con-tinuestransformingitsrail infrastructure, said Ebong. Brazilspassengerrail operatorsareprioritizing solutionsthatwillreduce costsandimproveenergy efficiency,accordingto Ebong.Therecentexpan-sionofBrazilspassenger rail systems has increased the need for more efficient man-agementofrailassets,she added. USTDAs assistance willhelprailoperatorsplan andimplementinformation and communications technol-ogy investments to optimize the maintenance of those sys-temsandtoidentifyenergy efficiency solutions.ANPTrilhos cooperation withUSTDAonassetand energymanagement,effi-ciencyimprovements,and cost reductions, said Joubert Flores,CEOof ANPTrilhos will prepare Brazils passen-gerrailsystemsforafaster recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.USTDAalsorecently'