What Maia Melo does

Maia Melo Engenharia Ltda. is a privately held Brazilian engineering and architecture consulting firm founded in 1982 and headquartered in Recife, Pernambuco. The firm provides end-to-end professional services across eight sectors: transport planning, infrastructure, water resources and sanitation, cities and buildings, urban mobility, environment, institutional development, and expropriation. Services span the full project lifecycle from feasibility studies and basic/executive design through construction supervision and project management, delivered primarily through public procurement (licitações) to federal, state, and municipal governments in Brazil, with selective international work in Peru and Angola. The firm's track record includes 26,574 km of highway projects, 2,353 km of railway/metro projects, 1.17 million m² of building projects, 56,170 m of special engineering structures, and 27,386 km of construction management.

The firm's underlying technology stack is anchored by BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology applied across more than 20 disciplines, combined with a proprietary innovation platform called M.Lab. M.Lab has produced three domain-specific applications: HidroPower (hydrological studies using the Gumbel Method integrating pluviometry, fluviometry, and basin flow calculations), DrainPower (surface drainage design consuming HidroPower outputs), and Desapropriação (mobile-based expropriation/cadastral management with georeferencing and 360° camera/drone integration). These tools reportedly reduce project time and rework by 50%+ versus manual workflows.

Maia Melo's business model is professional services on a per-project, per-contract basis, with revenue derived from competitive public bidding at federal (DNIT), state (SEINFRA, COMPESA, SIT, SETRAP, SECOPA), and municipal (Prefeitura do Recife, Emlurb, URB Recife) levels, supplemented by private concessionary clients (e.g., CONCEF) and select international work. The firm holds five ISO certifications (9001:2015, 14001:2015, 45001:2018, NBR 16001:2012, 37301:2021) and operates under a compliance program aligned with FCPA, UK Bribery Act, and Brazilian anti-corruption law. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per contract. Distribution is exclusively direct sales through enterprise field engagement; there is no self-service, marketplace, or retail channel. Marketing is channel-driven through industry events (ENACOR, RAPv, CEAD, REC'n'Play) and organic social media rather than paid advertising.

Name

Maia Melo

Legal name

Maia Melo Engenharia Ltda.

Website

https://maiamelo.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Maia Melo is a Brazilian engineering and architecture consulting firm founded in 1982, headquartered in Recife, serving federal, state, and municipal government clients with end-to-end infrastructure services — from feasibility studies through construction supervision — across highways, railways, urban mobility, and sanitation projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering and Architecture Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Design & Engineering for Renewal/Expansion (Pipelines, Pump Stations, Treatment Plants) (EUANALAD), Water Quality & Watershed/Hydrologic Modeling (SWMM/HEC-RAS, Flood/Runoff/Nutrient) (EUAHAKAF), Treatment Plant Asset Programs (Process Assets, Electrical/Mechanical Systems) (EUANALAL)

Keywords

• Engineering consulting services
• Infrastructure project design
• Construction supervision services
• Transportation infrastructure consulting
• BIM engineering methodology

Headquarters

HQ city

Recife

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Architecture Consulting Services: Maia Melo generates revenue through professional services contracts for engineering and architecture consulting. Services are billed on a per-project basis, covering the full lifecycle from feasibility studies and basic/executive design through construction supervision and project management. Revenue is derived from government contracts obtained through competitive bidding processes and from private sector clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Maia Melo provides engineering and architecture consulting services across the full infrastructure project lifecycle — from feasibility studies and basic/executive design through construction supervision and project management. Core service areas cover highways, railways, bridges, urban mobility (BRT systems), environmental studies, water/sanitation infrastructure, public buildings, slope containment, and urban requalification. The firm uses BIM methodology across 20+ disciplines and leverages proprietary in-house tools (M.Lab platform with HidroPower, DrainPower, and Desapropriação applications) to optimize hydrological studies, drainage design, and expropriation workflows.

Product overview

Maia Melo is an engineering and architectural consulting firm offering professional services across eight sectors: transport planning, infrastructure, water resources and sanitation, cities and buildings, urban mobility, environment, institutional development, and expropriation. Their primary offering is comprehensive engineering consulting from feasibility studies through project execution and construction supervision. The M.Lab platform serves as their technological innovation division, providing proprietary applications (HidroPower, DrainPower, Desapropriação) that optimize specific engineering processes including hydrology, drainage, and expropriation workflows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• M.Lab: Technological innovation sector of Maia Melo, responsible for developing proprietary applications including HidroPower (hydrological studies), DrainPower (surface drainage projects), and Desapropriação (expropriation/cadastral management).

Products and services

• M.Lab Innovation Platform Maia Melo's in-house innovation technology platform that develops and deploys proprietary engineering applications. The platform comprises three apps — HidroPower, DrainPower, and Desapropriação — designed to optimize hydrological studies, drainage design, and expropriation workflows on infrastructure projects.
• HidroPower Hydrological studies application integrating pluviometry, fluviometry, and basin flow calculations using the Gumbel Method. Outputs formatted spreadsheets, charts, and reports. Reduces hydrological study time by half while minimizing human error. Used across Maia Melo projects such as BR-020/GO, BR-365/MG, and AP-160.
• DrainPower Surface drainage design application that operates in conjunction with HidroPower, consuming hydrological data to assist with curb and gutter calculations, sizing of collection boxes, inlet structures, and energy dissipators.
• Desapropriação (Expropriation App) Mobile application for property expropriation and cadastral management. Enables property data collection on mobile devices, adds georeferenced information, documents proof records, conducts market research, and automates process creation and management. Reduces time, personnel, and rework by more than 50%; supported by 360° cameras and drone surveys.
• Engineering and Architecture Consulting Services Full-lifecycle engineering and architecture consulting across eight sectors: transport planning, infrastructure, water resources and sanitation, cities and buildings, urban mobility, environment, institutional development, and expropriation. Services span feasibility studies, basic and executive design, construction supervision, and project management. Delivered primarily to government agencies (federal, state, municipal) and private infrastructure operators via competitive public procurement.
• Highway Duplication and Restoration Design & Supervision Executive design and construction supervision services for highway duplication, paving, restoration, and capacity-adequacy projects. Includes expropriation, environmental studies, and urban mobility components. Delivered using BIM methodology across multiple disciplines. Example project: BR-101/PE Corredor Nordeste (41.40 km) for DNIT.
• Urban Mobility and BRT Corridor Consulting Technical studies, basic and executive design, and management services for urban public transport corridors and integrated terminals. Example project: BRT North-South and East-West corridors in the Recife Metropolitan Region totaling 45.30 km for the Grande Recife Consortium of Transport.
• Bridge and Special Engineering Structure Design & Supervision Design and construction supervision services for bridges and special engineering structures, including major river crossings and urban connectivity bridges. Examples include Ponte Engenheiro Jaime Gusmão (Prefeitura do Recife/Emlurb), Ponte Jorge Amado on rio Cachoeira (533 m, SIT Bahia), Ponte sobre o Rio Matapi (612 m, SETRAP Amapá), Ponte sobre o rio São Francisco (1,014.06 m, CONCEF), and basic engineering for Ponte Salvador-Itaparica (12.36 km).
• Railway and Metro Design & Supervision Implantation and remodeling design and supervision services for railway and metro lines, with 2,353 km of project portfolio across the firm's history.
• Water Resources and Sanitation Consulting Basic engineering, environmental impact assessment (EIA/RIMA), and design services for water supply, sewage, and dam projects. Example: Barragem de Amora Grande in Gravatá/Amarají for COMPESA, benefiting approximately 20,000 inhabitants. Portfolio includes 35 water supply and sanitation projects.
• Urban Requalification and Public Building Design Design and supervision services for urban requalification (waterfronts, public spaces), public buildings (clinics, hospitals), and slope containment in risk areas. Uses BIM methodology (e.g., federated model on the 9.3 km Orla do Recife project enabling clash detection). Example projects include Orla da Cidade do Recife, UPA-E Policlínica Casa Amarela, Desenvolve no Recife, and slope containment/urbanization in risk areas following 2022 Northeast Brazil floods.
• Environmental Studies and EIA/RIMA Environmental impact assessment and environmental studies services for infrastructure projects, with 64 environmental studies units completed across the firm's portfolio.

Quantifiable outcome

• HidroPower reduces hydrological study time by 50% while minimizing human errors in calculations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EngeconsultcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaia Melo formed a consortium with Engeconsult for the Orla da Cidade do Recife project (9.3km urban requalification), and another consortium with Engeconsult and TPF Engenharia for Contenção de Encostas e Urbanização em Áreas de Risco (slope containment in Recife). Also collaborated on Ponte Engenheiro Jaime Gusmão supervision project. Joint execution of complex multidisciplinary infrastructure projects.
• Nova EngevixcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the consortium (Maia Melo, Engeconsult, Nova Engevix) for the Orla da Cidade do Recife project. Nova Engevix brings additional engineering capacity to the consortium for this large-scale urban requalification project.
• TPF EngenhariacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaia Melo formed a consortium with Engeconsult and TPF Engenharia to develop slope containment and hillside urbanization projects for URB Recife, addressing risk areas in the metropolitan region of Recife following the 2022 floods and landslides in Northeast Brazil that left more than 9,500 people homeless.
• CONCIN-CONSÓRCIO CONSTRUCTOR IIRSA NORTE (PERU)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMaia Melo was contracted by CONCIN, the IIRSA Norte construction consortium in Peru, for the concession of works and maintenance of road sections of the North Amazon Multimodal Axis of IIRSA. Provided diagnostic, basic and executive design for critical road segments on the Olmos-Corral Quemado stretch (194.5km).
• DNIT (Departamento Nacional de Infraestrutura e Transporte)coreOthersPrimary government client for federal transportation infrastructure projects. Maia Melo has been contracted for multiple DNIT projects including BR-101/PE duplication, BR-230/PB duplication supervision, BR-381/MG duplication supervision, Ponte Binacional do Rio Oiapoque, and others.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TPF Engenharia: Brazilian engineering consulting firm that formed a consortium with Maia Melo and Engeconsult for slope containment projects in Recife following the 2022 floods. A directly comparable infrastructure consulting peer with overlapping government client base in Northeast Brazil.
• STE - Serviços Técnicos de Engenharia: Brazilian engineering consulting firm specializing in transportation infrastructure and supervision projects for public agencies. Similar profile to Maia Melo in competing for DNIT and state-level highway consulting tenders.
• Nova Engevix: Brazilian engineering firm that partnered with Maia Melo on the Orla do Recife urban requalification project. Competes in similar infrastructure consulting segments, particularly urban mobility and large public works supervision.
• Engeconsult: Brazilian engineering consulting firm and Maia Melo's most frequent consortium partner. They have collaborated on Orla do Recife, Ponte Engenheiro Jaime Gusmão, and slope containment projects, indicating highly comparable capabilities in infrastructure consulting for government clients in Northeast Brazil.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM Brasil: Global infrastructure consulting firm with Brazil operations covering highways, rail, water, and urban infrastructure. Larger multinational peer competing for the same federal and state infrastructure tenders as Maia Melo.
• WSP Brasil: Global engineering consulting firm with established Brazil operations offering transportation, water, and environmental infrastructure consulting. Competes with Maia Melo for major public tenders but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic scope.
• Tetra Tech Brasil: International consulting and engineering firm with water resources and environmental expertise that aligns with Maia Melo's M.Lab hydrology/drainage focus. Larger multinational peer in adjacent infrastructure consulting segments.
• Bureau Veritas Brasil: International testing, inspection, and engineering consulting firm with Brazilian operations. Overlaps with Maia Melo in infrastructure project supervision and quality management, though broader in scope across multiple industries.
• Arcadis Brasil: Global design and engineering consultancy with Brazilian operations in mobility, water, and resilience infrastructure. Overlaps with Maia Melo's transportation and environmental consulting practice at larger scale.
• Egis Engenharia Brasil: French-origin engineering group with Brazilian operations in transportation, urban development, and environmental consulting. Comparable international consulting peer operating in Brazil, especially relevant given Maia Melo's own international work in Latin America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@maiamelo-oficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maia-melo-engenharia
• Instagraminstagram.com/maiameloengenharialtda

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Maia Melo