Dilma, JB asks for more resources for Sergipe.

ASN - Measures to combat the effects of the drought and the works of the Growth Acceleration Program were the focus of President Dilma Rousseff's meeting with the nine governors of the Northeast region. Governor Jackson Barreto met with Dilma on Wednesday evening, the 25th, at the Planalto Palace in Brasília, where, together with the heads of the Executive branch from the other Northeastern states, he expressed solidarity with the president and requested the continuation of Federal Government investments in the region.

For Sergipe, Jackson advocated for the continuation of works under the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and federal financing, mainly carried out in conjunction with BNDES and Caixa Econômica Federal. This guarantees the expansion of the construction of affordable housing, the expansion of the Santa Maria airport, and the construction of the Xingó Canal.

The resources of the PAC Drought Relief Program were also discussed. In Sergipe, the program to combat the effects of drought is carrying out the expansion and duplication of three water pipelines: the Umbaúba, Itabaianinha and Tomar do Geru pipelines in the south of the state; the Sertaneja pipeline in Aquidabã; and the Sertão pipeline in Nossa Senhora da Glória. Together, the works total more than R$156 million and benefit 221 people in Sergipe.

CAP

The projects of the Growth Acceleration Program have already been the subject of previous meetings between Dilma and Jackson. In November, President Dilma Rousseff guaranteed political support for the construction of the new passenger terminal at Aracaju airport and the Xingó Canal project.

At the time, the president ordered the re-inclusion of the airport project in the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program). With the new runway scheduled for this year, in addition to the completion of the first phase of roadworks in the surrounding area, the airport needs a new passenger terminal and a new aircraft apron. This final stage of modernization of the capital's airport will cost R$ 340 million. The work should be completed in 2017.

Xingó Canal

Scheduled to become the largest infrastructure project in the history of Sergipe, the Xingó Canal also received explicit support from the president. Demonstrating a detailed understanding of the project, which was first presented by former governor Marcelo Déda, Dilma Rousseff also ensured its inclusion in the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program).

With a total value of R$ 2,4 billion, the Xingó Canal is a project for multiple water uses and productive inclusion, not just irrigation. The Alto Sertão region of Sergipe will be a direct beneficiary of the canal.

With presidential approval, the project will have its schedule finalized and the construction contract signed by 2015. "The president's commitment is to definitively solve the problem of water scarcity in the semi-arid region," Jackson said at the time.