São Paulo – This Tuesday (15th), the World Bank announced the approval of a US$ 485 million loan for urban development and housing projects in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro.
According to a statement issued by the bank’s press office, the funds will benefit approximately 2 million people who live in favelas (slums). The financing, according to the bank, will increase the state of Rio’s ability to regularize the occupation of plots, chart high-risk areas, formalize the ownership of housing units eligible to receive incentives for investment or resettling where needed. The population of the metropolitan region is approximately 12 million, informs the statement.
According to the bank, expansion and improvement of public services, such as education and healthcare, is also provided for, by means of “innovative” programs. According to the statement, the state governor, Sérgio Cabral, claimed that the loan is crucial for several urban development projects underway in Rio. He mentioned the Morar Seguro (Safe Housing) program, which aims to improve the quality, safety and availability of popular housing.
The World Bank’s statement underscores that the loan has been announced shortly after the floods and landslides that killed over 900 people in the state in January. The disaster, however, took place in the mountain region of Rio, rather than the metropolitan area of the capital where the funds are being sent.
The bank informs that over the last four years, weather phenomena have left over 100,000 families homeless, and contributed to the shortage of adequate housing in the state, especially for the poor.
The term of the loan is 30 years, including a grace period of five and a half years. According to the statement, the World Bank allocated US$ 3.7 billion to the state and to the city of Rio de Janeiro since 1952, including the loan announced this Tuesday.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
