SAO PAULO: The Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro on Friday raised 22.7 billion reais ($4.18 billion) by selling the rights to manage its water and sewage utility Cedae in the biggest sanitization privatization in the country’s history.

Unlisted sanitation operator Aegea, whose investors include Singapore’s GIC and local holding company Itausa, bid 15.4 billion reais for blocks 1 and 4 of Cedae, while rival Igua Saneamento, whose investors include Canadian pension fund CPPIB, paid 7.3 billion reais for block 2.

Although there was no bid for block 3, Rio state raised more than double the amount it set as the minimum for the auction overall, underscoring private companies’ eagerness to buy into Brazil’s underdeveloped water and sewage sector.

Some 16% of the country’s population lacks access to clean water and almost half do not have access to a formal sewage system.

The companies will operate their respective pieces of Cedae, which had been heavily criticized over the quality of the water it provides in some areas, as public-private partnerships for 35 years.

The state had previously said the auction winners would be expected to invest up to 30 billion reais in the four blocks. It was not immediately clear what the winners of the three blocks are expected to spend.

Two other bidders, power company Equatorial Energia and Rio Mais group, backed by Brookfield Asset Management, failed to win any concessions.

Brazil’s government last year approved a bill to ensure water and sewage services will be available to the entire population by 2033, a goal which would cost an estimated 700 billion reais to achieve.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, whose administration has dashed hopes for an ambitious program of privatizations, hailed the auction results as a turning point for “our history and our economy.”