Brasília – The Brazilian government has announced this Thursday (13th) that it will allocate R$ 3.8 billion (US$ 1.6 bn) to the Urban Mobility Growth Acceleration Program (PAC, in the Portuguese acronym) in seven Brazilian cities. The funds will go to projects in Brasília, Goiânia, Palmas, João Pessoa, Campo Grande, São Luís and Natal.
The Brazilian minister of Cities, Aguinaldo Ribeiro, said the states and municipalities covered will not be required to provide any additional funding. “These R$ 3.8 bn represent 100% of the Union’s General Budget and there is no need for states or city halls to chip in and compromise their own budgets even further, he explained.
The money can be invested in subways, monorails, urban trains, light rails, BRTs (bus rapid transit), bus corridors, and gondola lifts, among other transportation types. Light rail works underway in the Federal District, Goiania and Natal will benefit.
The funds are part of the R$ 50 bn (US$ 21.1 bn) earmarked for works selected for government program Pacto da Mobilidade (Mobility Pact), announced on the wake of the demonstrations last June, which claimed for improved public transportation, among other issues.
As per the latest PAC2 results, released last February, R$ 31.9 bn (US$ 13.4 bn ) from the Pacto da Mobilidade program were announced for the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, São Gonçalo, Nova Iguaçu, Duque de Caxias, São Paulo, Guarulhos, Osasco, Campinas, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Recife, Belo Horizonte and Manaus.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
