Iberdrola's Neoenergia wins big in Brazil's power transmission auction

SAO PAULO, June 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian power company Neoenergia SA, controlled by Spain's Iberdrola SA , made the winning bid for the largest energy transmission project auctioned by the South American country on Thursday.

The 13 blocks auctioned total 5,425 kilometers (3370.94 miles) of transmission lines with an investment estimate at 15.3 billion Reais ($2.93 billion).

The second batch, won by Neoenergia, comprised 1,707 km of transmission lines in the southeastern states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, and was expected to require investment of 4.94 billion reais.

The Iberdrola-controlled firm also won smaller block 11 with 291 km of lines in Mato Grosso do Sul.

A consortium including Cymi Brasil and Canada's Brookfield won block 1, comprising 1,269 km lines in Minas Gerais, which is set to require 3.68 billion reais in investments.

ISA CTEEP, controlled by Colombia's Interconnection Electric SA, secured the third batch with capital expenditure estimated at 3.65 billion reais. It also won block 6.

Eletrobras, through its subsidiary Eletronorte, won block 8, marking its first deal since 2014, as its privatization, earlier in June, paved the way for Latin America's largest utility to make significant investments again.

Block 8 comprised transmission lines in Rondonia state and Eletrobras aims to invest around 137.74 million reais in the venture.

India's Sterlite won blocks 5 and 9, while Brazil's Taesa made the winning bid for block 10. Zapone Engenharia e Comercio won block 4 and was also part of a consortia with Sollo Energia that won block 13.

Engie Brasil was successful to acquire block 8 and Energisa got block 12.

($1 = 5.2207 reais) (Reporting by Leticia Fucuchima; Writing by Gabriel Araujo and Peter Frontini; Editing by Edmund Blair Editing by David Evans, Mark Potter and Aurora Ellis)