Mitsui & Co. announced Friday a joint venture with Brazil's Odebrecht TransPort S.A. which will focus on railway investments there.
Mitsui will invest 500 million Brazilian real (¥22.5 billion) by the end of the year to take a 40 percent stake in the venture, which will put 16.9 billion real into four ongoing Odebrecht TransPort projects.
They comprise subway line No. 6 in Sao Paulo, light rail systems in Rio de Janeiro and Goiania, and a suburban railway in Rio de Janeiro, Mitsui said.
Odebrecht TransPort, a subsidiary of Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht S.A., owns and runs railways, highways and other transport options in Brazil.
Mitsui will help bring Japanese technology and operational know-how to the venture. It has run a freight car and locomotive leasing business in Brazil and other markets since the 1990s. Earlier this year, it began a rail cargo business in Brazil.