Minister of Transport defends Ferrogrão railway and says he will listen to Marina Silva.
Renan Filho presented the plan for the first 100 days of work at the ministry.
247 - Transport Minister Renan Filho said on Wednesday (18) that he will work to unlock the Ferrogrão railway project, which aims to reduce the costs of grain transportation, linking Sinop (MT) to Miritituba (PA).
The railway project was halted by order of Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes and was never carried forward by the previous government. During the campaign, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin promised that a victory for Lula would mean the expansion of the Mato Grosso railway network, with the construction of the Ferrogrão railway.
In a press conference announcing the plan for the ministry's first 100 days of work, Minister Renan Filho defended the project, which, according to him, could be environmentally better than maintaining highways as the main means of transporting the harvest in the region.
Renan Filho highlighted that the project is feasible, even with 100% private investment.
He stated that he will listen to the opinion of the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, regarding the project, following the recommendation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
The minister also said he didn't like the name "Ferrogrão": "It makes it seem like something that goes against the environment."
Legal framework for railways
Renan Filho also said that he wants to focus on attracting private resources to the railway sector and that the ministry intends to "revisit" the legal framework for railways, established in 2021.
"The framework is good, but we need to revisit some points, especially since there were vetoes," he said. According to the minister, the new legislation "brought progress to the country," but there are items that need to be discussed.
"We want to strengthen private investment by combining efforts with public resources. We will coordinate with BNDES and PPI. We will accelerate concessions," he emphasized.
Highways
Another aspect of the plan involves resuming and intensifying road construction projects. The document proposes the completion of 861 kilometers of highways, which will be built, revitalized, or have new signage. Twelve federal highways (BRs) are mentioned: BR 116/RS, BR470/SC, BR163/PR, BR447/ES, BR381/MG, BR080/GO, BR116/BA, BR101/AL, BR101/SE, BR 116/CE, BR432/RR, and BR364/AC.
The plan also outlines the resumption of work on 670 kilometers of federal highways, including revitalization, road construction, and bridge building.
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