Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome everyone to the earnings call for CCR S.A. to discuss results relative to Q4 and the year 2022. We'd like to inform you that all participants will be connected in listen-only mode during the company's remarks. After that, we'll start a Q&A session when further instructions will be provided. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please request the help of an operator by pressing star zero. Before moving on, we'd like to say that forward-looking statements made during this conference call concerning the company's business outlook and also operating and financial targets are based on beliefs and assumptions on the part of CCR's management team and also on information currently available for the company.
Forward-looking statements are no guarantee of performance as they involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as they refer to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not materialize. Investors should have in mind that overall economic conditions, industry conditions, and other operating factors might affect the future results of the company, and thus lead to results that will differ considerably from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. I'd like now to turn the conference over to Mr. Waldo Perez, interim CEO, CFO, and IRO. Please, Mr. Perez, you may carry on.
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. I'd like to once again thank you all for participating in our earnings call, where we discuss results for Q4 2022 and the whole year. Here with me today, we have Fabio Godoy, our IR supervisor, Douglas Ribeiro, Cauê Esteves, and Kaique Moraes, also from our IR team.
It's with great satisfaction that I'd like to communicate that we took important steps in 2022 towards new accomplishments around our strategic ambition, including growth, capital discipline, vigorous governance criteria, high engagement on the part of employees, diversity and inclusion program, and also our social and environmental commitments. We have over 17,000 direct employees focused on creating better, safer ways for society. The year 2022 was marked by a recovery in the economy and an improvement in our operating indicators relative to human mobility. The worst of the sanitary crisis brought about by COVID-19 is on page of the past with the three models where we operate reaching relevant numbers. Our businesses showed to be resilient to make this crossing. The choice of projects based on discipline and capital allocation was key in this journey.
After important accomplishments, we now operate to consolidate our airport operations, also highways and urban mobility throughout the year 2022 that add up to over BRL 22 billion in investments across those five projects for the coming years. We have concluded throughout the year the investment of two assets on our portfolio, we have announced in December 2022 the sale of SAN. Deals that reinforce our continuous focus on portfolio management, capital allocation, and value generation. In 2022, we also celebrated an agreement with the city of São Paulo, which brought to an end over 50 legal cases, in favor of the concessionary company. With that, we understand that we have extended our term for AutoBAn through December 2027.
With that, we have made payments of BRL 1.2 billion to the State Government of São Paulo and also hired different high scale works such as the Barueri and junction, the Mairinque junction which has been delivered, the Hospital Sorocaba junction also delivered in addition to the doubling of the marginal highways here in Castello Branco and ViaOeste. Those were measures to bring the legal cases to an end as parties acknowledged the irrevocable way that those events happened.
Throughout 2022, we also signed important agreements with concessionary companies named ViaOeste and Rodovias das Colinas PLT, Metrô Bahia, and BH Airport, coming from negotiations that establish a very fine economic and financial balance in addition to preserving legal safety and ratify this long-term partnership with the company and with the concession powers, and the commitment to building more infrastructure. Additionally, we saw the arrival of two main economic groups in Brazil, Petrobras and Itaúsa, who have joined us, making our governance even more robust, putting an emphasis on long-term investments.
Our investment strategy remains geared towards Brazil and the models where we operate, which have received investments of BRL 2.7 billion in 2022. I'd like to highlight that we have maintained our focus on training teams and also on investing in modernizing our structure, especially Lines 8 and 9 of metropolitan trains.
It has just been announced, we saw no surprise. It only showed the state of degradation of the lines as they were received in the past by us. It's important to emphasize that we're still in the first year in the contract of a 30-year contract, our objective is to bring the operation to CCR level so that our clients can receive quality service, predictability, and safety. The concession contract contemplates investments of about BRL 4 billion to recover the infrastructure, this will happen especially in the first three years of the contract. Those investments include the acquisition of 36 trains. The first lot of 16 units will arrive in February for testing. About two months after the arrival of a series of trains, they will be incorporated to our current fleet.
It's also worth mentioning that in the first year of the concession, the amount invested added up to BRL 1.2 billion, in addition to the grant of another BRL 690 million. A few important improvements are worthy of mention so that you can understand the high complexity level of this operation. The maintenance window is only of 3 hours because we need to turn energy off during the night so that we can work. Some interventions that were made with all those investments were the replacement of 2.5 km of rails, correcting 217 flaws detected through a distance of 34 km. We also inspected and fixed 100% of the aerial network or grid, adding up to 187 km.
We also cleaned and fixed 848 air conditioning units inside the trains, which represent all the AC machines. We also cleaned the equivalent of 65 soccer fields in addition to the revitalization of elevators and station structures. That's just a bit of what we did. It's a long list of interventions. Wanted to highlight all those improvements because they were important in our portfolio of improvement. As for the Rio SP, we have maintained excellence in service on the Dutra Highway and for the BR-101 from Rio to Ubatuba.
In addition to recovering and strengthening the hillsides when during this period when we have faced and struggled with heavy rains, we have dedicated attention to better service, creating a hotline for users with traffic inspection and mechanical support, pre-hospital service, and also via WhatsApp. We also closed the year with all the infrastructure ready to start operating in the free-flow, the first payment system with no toll plazas in Brazil. The pilot operation has started in BR-101, we expect to start charging in March 2023. That shows our pioneering spirit and also our ability to innovate.
As for the airport front, after mobilizing to take on 16 airfields simultaneously in a never-before-seen operation in the world, continue to invest in what we understand to be essential for the cities and areas or regions where we operate. We identified areas and to foster local market. We are also modernizing the respective infrastructure of the airfields. In less than a year, we have brought about important innovations for those airports and airfields. We have delivered 26 new destinations, including international destinations, including Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Montevideo. CCR Aeroportos already has 189 routes, and with the end of the pandemic, we see very positive outlook for the segment.
Because of the strong cash generation and robust financial position in 2022, we paid out BRL 778 million in dividends, and we closed a quarter with a cash position which is quite comfortable. We have presented a leverage as measured by the net debt EBITDA in 4.7 times. Stable when compared to 1.6 of Q3 2022. With the purpose of optimizing the management of our debt and to increase the duration of our debt. It's worth mentioning that CCR has already started working to restructure the long-term financing lines for 2023 and 2024, especially those coming for projects that were acquired in 2021. Recently, we contracted a financing line for BRL 4.6 billion through BNDES for ViaMobilidade and Lines 8 and 9 of the urban metropolitan trains.
BRL 2.5 billion of that total will be cleared through infrastructure debentures, which will be sustainable, with the certification coming from BNDES. Once those resources will be applied in transportation modes of low carbon emissions, the largest green infrastructure debenture issuance in the Brazilian capital market so far. The controlled leverage level allows us to continue to implement our growth strategy. We are optimistic about the outlook for new projects which are in our pipeline. Any new project will follow the usual due diligence we always apply to our studies with rigorous criteria and discipline as we allocate capital for those projects. From the social governance and environmental perspective, we have conducted our first ESG forum to present results of our sustainability targets.
The initiative reinforces the transparency level we want to impose in our environmental platform, which follows our ESG guideline and is structured across the company. As part of this agenda, I'd like to invite you all to our second ESG forum, which will be broadcast online on March 30th at 10:00 A.M. In line with what's expected from the Paris Accord in terms of climate change management, we have publicly committed to reduce our gas emissions and have submitted our proposal of decarbonization targeted to the SBTI, Science Based Targets initiative, and we have adhered to the net-zero emissions, an initiative made by UN Brazil Global Pact or Global Compact. We are now the only company in the infrastructure industry to have been part of these movements so far.
Before I finish, I'd like to comment on a subsequent event, which was the signing of the agreement at Barcas, which is in its final phases. The objective is mainly to continue providing services after the concession contract is over. Given the state a deadline of 24 months to conclude these studies and conduct a new bidding process for a new concession. In addition, we'll be finding amounts and timing terms and also operating costs. Lastly, as presented and the results released, as we are getting close to the end of the concession and there is an absence of future economic benefit, and that's a requirement, of course, for expenses to be qualified as a nexus.
Investments on ViaOeste for Q4 2022 were described in another light. The company will adopt the same accounting treatment for the balance of those investments being made.
I now turn the floor over to Flávia Godoy, who will go into details of our numbers for Q4 2022. Thank you, Waldo. Good morning, everyone. I'd like to highlight the main figures for SRS for 2022, Q4. Once again, for the same basis number, we have excluded new projects and non-recurring effects, as detailed in our results release or press release. As for quarter highlights, the traffic of vehicles on the same base saw a growth of 1% when compared to Q4 2021. That traffic performance on the same basis is the result of a growth of 1.9% of light vehicles and a slight drop of 0.1% in the traffic of heavy vehicles when compared to Q4 2021.
In terms of airports, excluding the South and Central blocks, the growth was 16.9% in the period. For urban mobility, excluding ViaMobilidade and Lines 8 and 9, the growth came out at 22.5%, this same period for comparison. With that, net revenue base on the same basis reached a level of BRL 2.6 billion in Q4 2022, accounting for an increase of 10.8% when compared to the same period of the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA on the same basis and excluding non-recurring items, has increased 17.6%, reaching a level of BRL 1.6 billion. Now a bit about costs. Total costs saw an increase of 28.4% in Q4 2022 when compared to Q4 2021, and reached a level of BRL 3.2 billion.
At the same comparative basis, cash costs on the same basis, excluding all the non-recurring effects from ViaOeste, reached BRL 1 billion, representing an increase of only 2.4%. IPCA in the period came out at 5.8%. Speaking a bit about EBITDA, the same basis, EBITDA, we had an increase of 17.6% with a margin of 61.1%. An expansion of 3.6% as for the EBITDA margin, excluding only the non-recurring effect from ViaOeste of BRL 470.9 million, and the extraordinary provision for RodoNorte of BRL 340 million. Concessions which have come to an end and divested and therefore, we included in this calculation concessions recently acquired, which have contributed to generate cash and will remain in our portfolio.
The adjusted EBITDA for SRS, that you can call recurring EBITDA, will come out at BRL 1.9 billion for Q4 2022, and BRL 7.2 billion for the year 2022. I'd like also to highlight the extraordinary effect that we had for ViaOeste because of the recognition of about BRL 470.9 million for expenses, recognized in the others line, and that were used to build improvement works that do not generate future economic benefits and therefore are recorded as costs because they do not meet the criteria of intangible assets and thus affecting the net profit. That amount already includes the reclassification which happened in this quarter for provision effects for Imparma of about BRL 222 million.
Of the non-recurring effects coming from RodoNorte and ViaOeste, CCR saw a net loss of BRL 217 million when compared to a loss of BRL 133 million in Q4 2021. On the same basis, excluding non-recurring events or effects, net profit came out at BRL 219 million in Q4 2022, which represented an increase of 36.3% vis-à-vis the first period of the previous year. In Q4 2022, we have invested BRL 960 million in some concession companies. As a highlight, we could mention some Rio-São Paulo ViaMobilidade Line 8 and Line 9 and ViaSul. As for the Rio SE, investments were focused on recovering pavements and an implementation of safety devices. For ViaMobilidade H, Line 8, and Line 9, we invested mainly in acquiring the new trains.
For ViaSul, we invested mainly in doubling some sections in the BR-386 highway, also in recovering the soil and also in implementing or installing safety devices. We now have time for questions and answers. Over to you, operator.
We will now start the Q&A session. If you have a question, please press star 1 on your touch phone. If at any moment you have been answered, please press star 2 to remove yourself from the line, from the queue. Our first question comes from Guilherme Mendes from J.P. Morgan.
Hello, Waldo, Flávio. Good morning. Two questions about capital allocation. Number 1, thinking about optimizing your portfolio. Valdo mentioned the sale of some smaller operations. You also have a project pipeline at the PPI phase.
How do you plan on balancing those investments, especially non-core activities, and also in terms of capital allocation, a bit about the buyback. How do you see buyback going forward? I think you are now at a good digit as an alternative to return resources to shareholders. Thank you. Those two questions. Thank you, Guilherme, for your questions. Both are related, have to do with capital allocation both. Number one, we have repeatedly revisiting the performance of all our assets. Some are defined as non-core, as I mentioned before during my presentation, we have already divested from those non-core assets. There are two other assets which are well known and are now in the process. One is Barcas.
In about two years, we go through a new bidding process, then MSVia, and we're still negotiating with the authorities to have a new bidding process for that concession. Having said that, there is a constant review, as I said, of all assets that we hold, mobility, airports, and highways. Those are the core. In specific moments, it might make sense for the company to try and monetize assets or even whole portfolios, either partially or fully. Those decisions are made depending on the circumstances of the moment and also depending on the strategy we want to follow in terms of capital allocation and, of course, on the potential returns we could win. At the end of the day, decisions need to generate value for shareholders. Correct.
As for buybacks, that's another point we're also taking into account, that is part of a broader discussion in terms of using the company's cash, which is a recurring concern on our side. The executive management, the teams, the board, we always need to analyze where to allocate our capital investments, new concessions, paying out dividends, or if we do that by buying back shares. All those alternatives are repeatedly revisited, all decisions are made, as I said, based on our perspectives, to generate increasingly more value to shareholders. Thank you, Valdo. Have a good day. Our next question comes from Henrique Simões from Credit Suisse. Hi, Flavia, Valdo. Thank you. I'd like to ask about investments of BRL 8.5 billion that you mentioned. This is a considerably high number. You usually do a little less.
How much of that amount, BRL 8.5, will be invested this year? How much of it will depend on bureaucracy and longer processes to be executed? How much do you expect to use in the short term? Thank you. That has to do with what had been delayed from 2022 to 2023. You are right. When we work to plan for the year, for the five-year plan, we work on a budget that contemplates all the contract obligations we need to fulfill and also for some cases, investments we think are necessary but for which we need authorizations. In the past, when we look at our last track record more recent, something about 70%-80% is what actually eventually is invested.
Last year, for example, most investments, if not all, the ones that have been delayed, they were delayed because either they were not approved by the authorities within the year of the concession, which is the year we use for our planning, and that does not generate any other issue. We simply delay it. There are also environmental licensing issues, also other projects that sometimes we bring because we think it's convenient, but then the authorities want to postpone it or delay in terms of deciding. But I'll turn the floor over to Flávia to give you more details about the investments and also how it is made up and broken down to your question. Henrique, thank you for your question. Good morning.
I think as Waldo said, we are talking about amounts that include contingent investment, service level investments, and also cases which are under discussion. The amount that the company estimates and communicates to the market at BRL 7.2 billion, without considering VOST, we'll be able to monitor that a bit better as we move through the year. Out of that total, BRL 1.2 billion of investments were investments that did not happen in 2022. Not happen. They were now being considered for this new plan for 2022. We also had the addition of BRL 423 million from an investment coming from an amendment to a contract of the BRT concessionaire. We have also added BRL 190 million of claims for BR-101, we're talking about amounts which are subject of reimbursement by the insurance company.
Also to rebalance the contract and also considering some investments in lines 8 and 9. As for example, the action plan that is subject to rebalancing with the implementation of an energy substation that will bring a reduction in maintenance costs throughout the contract. All those amounts were made available at the company's press release for Q4 2022. You can have access to that. Now we will monitor that on a monthly basis, how those numbers unfold vis-à-vis our estimates. Once again, BRL 7.2 billion. Those numbers do not include the VOS balance of BRL 1.2 billion, just to be sure. Thank you. Okay, Waldo, Flávia, thank you.
Our next question comes from Victor Mizusaki from Bradesco BBI. Hi, good morning. I have two questions. First, Waldo, you mentioned the free-flow issue for the Rio SP. I think it started on January 30th, right?
My first question about the free-flow is if you could perhaps give us some more color on the results you have achieved so far. Maybe if you see a higher number of cars adhering to the technology, using the tag, escape routes as well. If you could comment on that a little bit, those results so far, I'd appreciate it. Number two, about Lines 8 and 9. You also mentioned the CapEx of BRL 4 billion. For 2023, in the guidance, we have BRL 2.6 billion. Looking at the past two years, 2021 and 2022, we're talking about something to the tune of BRL 1.2 billion. My question is, at that amount, and you mentioned that you can't waste Lines eight and nine with a very degraded infrastructure.
Is there any additional CapEx being executed at that concession that could generate a future rebalancing? Thank you. Those are my two questions. Hi, Victor. Good morning. Thank you for your question. I'll start with the free-flow question. When we closed 2022, the company concluded implementation of the free-flow at that specific segment on BR-101. For this new contract for Rio SP, the company has an obligation of implementing at BR-116, starting the first year of the concession, that small segment close to São Paulo and Arujá. We have decided in a partnership with the authorities to implement right now in BR-101. We're talking about a segment of the highway that has a traffic profile which is quite varying, especially in the first toll plaza.
We have concluded the installation of all the facilities in the three toll plazas. Those tokens will be replacing the toll plazas. Actually, we're talking about three across or along that segment of BR-101. We're now going through a testing phase. The free-flow will become operational in March or by March. That's an innovation we have included in this contract. We have a team out in the field, with a very strong ground communications in the area, with the local communities, trying to educate drivers. We're talking about free-flow once again, which will accept collection via tag and also the reading of license plates. We're still testing, as I said, and we'll start collecting the fare in the coming months. I give it back to Waldo now. Hi, Victor.
As for your question about lines 8 and 9 and other investments. Investments are being made as our business plan. We have actually pushed some investments for 2022, especially maintenance. Investments have more than met towards this year for maintenance lines 8 and 9. I'd say we are within plan. In answer to your question, today, there is a discussion with the authorities for us to achieve a new balance, but I'm not really sure whether that will really materialize. Right? Something still needs to mature. It'll depend on more discussions as the process moves forward.
It's also worth mentioning that as for the CapEx contemplated for lines 8 and 9, we have a contract with Alstom where we have mitigated ForEx risks. That brings about an index for inflation adjustment relative to France, because the equipment is imported from France.
We assemble it here in Brazil, the equipment comes from France. The expectations, and we are willing to confirm that, we expect about BRL 250 million that will be additional amounts given that inflation adjustment coming from France, that's part of our contract that for Forex dynamics. That's our only source of concern. We'll give you the final number as it emerges. Okay, thank you. Our next question comes from Andressa Varotto from UBS. Morning, Waldo, Flávia. First, I'd like to know if we can expect other costs relative to RodoNorte and Via Dutra. Also the Rodoanel project, which is scheduled for next month. How do you see that project going forward? Lastly, about the CapEx review. When you look at what you had in Q3 vis-a-vis what we have now.
How do you see this inflationary environment as you review your CapEx? Can we assume that that risk is passed? That's it. Thank you. Hi, Andressa. Thank you for your questions. Let's start with your first question about RodoNorte and Dutra. As I mentioned earlier today, and in other conversations I've had with investors and analysts, when we reach the end of a concession contract, we need to sit down with the authorities and discuss, and there is always a series of demands and other items that need to be addressed. We need to reach other agreements. The RodoNorte agreement was exactly that.
There is no way to assure that in the future, authorities will not add an item which has not been discussed thus far. It is our understanding that with this last agreement, that issue has been fully addressed.
The additional debt, if I may call it that way, has been addressed. As for Dutra, those discussions have not started yet. There are demands that are in our favor. We know that there are other claims from the authorities, from the concessing authorities, and we expect that we may reach an agreement eventually, but there is no timeline for that as is. As for Rodoanel Norte, that is a very relevant project for the state of São Paulo. A public-private partnership, as you know, a very different type of contracting mode. When you look at any project, we always look at the risk matrix for the project. We try to quantify those risks with which we are comfortable and those which we think are more relevant, and we try to mitigate them.
We're now in a process of final assessment. Very soon we will be able to decide whether or not we will pursue that project and how aggressive we will be if we decide to go for it, to go for the auction. Just to be sure, we continue to look at the several different opportunities offered by the market, but we do have a macroeconomic contribution marked by uncertainties, high interest rates. Our view on that takes all that into account. Lastly, your question about CapEx. I'll give it back to Flavia. She has the exact numbers to give you. Hi, Andressa. Good morning. I'll answer your question. You're asking about an increase in inputs, correct? The company has just announced an estimated number for 2023. You can see in our earnings release, all the variations are there.
They are driven by contract amendments, delays of works that did not happen in 2022 and which were naturally postponed to 2023. The company has not identified any surplus cost that is relevant that could affect the execution of our CapEx. Once again, when we look at the investment balance for the company to be realized, we're talking about the investment balance that has been compromised or committed to new businesses in 2021. CCR acquired five new businesses in 2021 that add up to about BRL 22 billion in investments to be executed in the coming 10 years. Why am I saying all this?
It is important to emphasize that as we priced those investments, when we delivered the proposals, when we submitted the proposals, we had a peak in input, put so that new reality had been reflected in our proposals. The current scenario, on the other hand, is slightly different from 2021. We still have a very small sampling, but when we, for example, consider the petroleum asphalt input, we see a drop of 9% in this year. That's an important input. That same input saw a drop of 13% in 2022. We see a down trend in that specific input, which is a positive indication when we talk about input costs. As I've said before in other meetings and calls, the company has not identified major changes in our investments obligations. Thank you.
Our next question comes from Felipe Nielsen from Citigroup. Hello, good morning. Thank you. I have 2 questions about the debt. I'd like to know if you've identified the risks in the cost of capital for your debt when you come to renegotiate debts about to mature or new issuances. What would be a comfortable leverage level that you see going forward given your investment plan? My second question, I'd like to know if you have any lessons learned coming from those first periods when you started operating up airports as lots or blocks as opposed to individual units or individual facilities. What have you learned in terms of operation? Okay, Filipe. Thank you. First, about the fixed income credit market.
Everyone knows, we've had a series of events early in the year, which have led to a decrease or a contraction in fixed income investing, also coming from some banks that coordinate offerings and offer firm guarantees for local operations. The market today is more demanding, more careful. What we've realized overall is that payment terms have been reduced. CDI, where you would get 10 or more, are now seeing a drop by investors and banks in general. Costs or the spread over IPCA tends to worsen, and that of course, depends on who is issuing it. At the end of the day, issuers who have a higher rating and who have a solid financial position and a good margin, which is our case, we will be less impacted.
Issuers who have a financial position which is more sensitive or delicate might face some more difficulties in the market. The market remains open. It's not closed, which is important to emphasize. As examples, we have just completed amidst this turbulence, the issuance of the BRE of the ventures, which was placed partially in a fixed income market. In addition to that, we are in the process of working on a different issuance of another concession where we have reached very interesting issuing conditions.
This will be placed in the local market. For now, we are threading very carefully, threading the market very carefully. As for the leverage level as a whole- Please stand by as we reconnect. Over to you, Mr. Waldo, Mr. Peres. Yeah, we got disconnected. I'm back. Can you hear me now? Yes, carry on, Mr. Peres.
We can all hear you now. I apologize. Okay. As for the leverage level, we always try to have a capital structure in which our duration is feasible. It is related to our cash flow generated by our operations and also with the dividends to be paid to the holding company. We do have a financial policy in which we have a self-imposed leverage level, and we try not to go over 3.5 times net debt over EBITDA. That's a number which provides us with a lot of comfort, and we do have the possibility of going beyond that level, provided we have a clear plan on how to resuming lower levels in no more than 24 months.
We have the flexibility for investments because of the policy or the flexibility to have a short-term management in some times, and that's what we're going for. We always try to be below that number. As for your second question, my lessons learned as we operate airports, as a network of airports, as we call it, that's the main reason why we decided to move forward in this new, newest or latest round, is to have an airport platform, a network operated in conjunction. You are right. If you operate independent airports, quite different from operating a grid or a network of airport. As we operate a series of airports, a network of airfields, we were able to talk with different airline companies and revisit their routes, optimize routes, optimize schedules.
In many cases, as I mentioned before, we have new routes, including international routes, which did not exist before and wouldn't be possible if we didn't have this network of airfields. That has helped optimize not only operations, but also helped us optimize or increase the number of passengers, number of flights as a whole. At the airport level, when you have an array of airports to operate, you're able to negotiate with large retailers, those who lease commercial spaces in airports, different types of retailers. You have a different platform to offer different points of sales to those retailers. We improve our image, we improve conditions offered to those retailers, contract conditions are better. Those are but a few examples of lessons learned from this new type of operation.
There are others, just to be sure. Okay, thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, to ask a question, press star one. If your question has been answered, please press star two to remove yourself from the queue. I'd like you to please wait while we call for more questions. This concludes the Q&A session, and I turn the conference back over to Mr. Peres for his final remarks. Mr. Peres, over to you. As soon as we answer the question from Pedro Bruno, which has just been authorized from XP. Please, Mr. Bruno, your question. Thank you. Thank you for the question. I have a follow-up on your comment about your return level that include uncertainties and include high interest rates. I'd like to hear from you how you see this discussion internally.
If you could share some of that with us to the extent is possible, what kind of rationale do you have internally? How does that relate to your view in terms of competitiveness between a new administration trying to discuss PPPs? There are specific examples. The road over Natal is one of them. If you have a comment on that, we'd appreciate it. The competitive scenario going forward, international players, new players, what do you see in that arena? Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for your question.
As for returns, as we've always said, we look at return on a case-by-case basis. It's difficult to establish a rule. Every project has its specificities. And when we see relevant risks, we of course seek to mitigate them before we present a proposal, just like we did in BOSP lines eight and nine.
That's an important factor to be taken into account. Where does the financial view come into play, including interest rates, funding costs? That's when we model the proposal, then we include all that. Which of course, guide our leverage level, and this is when we'll have impact of net cost, which is a very high cost today, funding costs and but not because of high interest rates. That of course includes infrastructure ventures. To your point, in terms of competition, I think all players, all participants in the market will be looking carefully at these issues, of course. The required returns for those projects will probably be higher than they've been for the past 10 years. About the competitive scenario, specifically, it will vary from transportation mode to transportation mode.
When you look at highways where we have more opportunities for those projects which are highly relevant for the past two years, we've seen a limited number of competitors. Names are usually the same. Companies are usually the same. We've seen that happening recently in Grupo Pátria, and I would imagine they will be a new competitor in this market. I do not know with what kind of impetus or willingness. When you look at airports, most rounds have been completed. We're coming to the eighth round, including two airports in Rio. We expect that we'll have the same usual suspects, right? The only round where we did not have the usual players was in the sixth round, when we managed to buy those two airport sets or blocks.
The amount, the number of competitors have been in the supply area, equipment supply. It will depend on the asset to be sold. We do not see major changes in that either. Again, this is a very dynamic universe. Thank you. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the questions and your participation. This now closes the Q&A session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Telles for his final remarks. Mr. Telles, you have the floor. Thank you. I would like to close by thanking you all for participating in our earnings call, for your interest in the company, and to emphasize that our IR team remains available to serve you. See you soon. Have a nice day, everyone. This concludes the Q&A session and also the earnings call for CCR.
Thank you all for participating, and have a nice day.