Pimentel: 'resources will boost the Minas Gerais economy'

Mines 247 - The Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Fernando Pimentel (PT-MG), stated this Friday (17) that the investments of R$ 2,55 billion announced by President Dilma Rousseff for urban mobility in Minas Gerais will boost the state economy and improve the living conditions of the population. "These are resources for the metro, bus corridors, BRTs and a series of civil works that will move the Minas Gerais economy and, in the end, give the population better transport services, reducing the time between home and work and traffic jams," said the PT member, who is a pre-candidate for the Minas Gerais government.

Pimentel recalled that the announcement meets the demands of the population for better quality services and results from a commitment made by Dilma. Urban mobility was among the five pacts announced by the Workers' Party member during the demonstrations of June last year. "The government studied the issue, raised the necessary resources, structured the credit lines and negotiated the investments with the state and capital city governments. Here, once again, there is no partisan issue, but a public spirit," he noted.

The investments are part of the PAC 2 Urban Mobility program. Of the total resources, R$ 1,284 billion comes from the General Budget of the Union (OGU) and R$ 1,271 billion corresponds to public financing with subsidized interest rates. Caixa Econômica Federal will be responsible for the financing, with interest rates of 5% per year. The repayment term will be 30 years, with a four-year grace period.

According to the minister, industry will also benefit from the investments. "The Federal Government is recovering the country's infrastructure with concession projects and investing in urban mobility in partnership with the private sector, each contributing its share. In the state alone, three federal highways (BRs) were auctioned and an airport was granted a concession. And now, the mobility projects within the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program). The result will undoubtedly be improved production conditions and reduced costs for the Brazilian economy," said the minister.

Projects

The city hall of Belo Horizonte and the government of Minas Gerais will receive R$ 2 billion to jointly execute two construction projects and develop subway designs. Of this total, R$ 1,910 billion will be for the construction of two sections of lines 2 and 3 of the Belo Horizonte subway, and R$ 90 million for project development. The route will run from Praça Raul Soares to the Santa Tereza Station on Avenida dos Andradas, passing through the hospital area and the Palácio das Artes. Section 2 of Line 3 will be 2,3 kilometers long and will include the Savassi, Uruguai, and Morro do Papagaio stations.

The resources will also be used for the production of the five projects of the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte's Metro-Rail System, which include section 2 of line 2 (Nova Suissa/Praça Raul Soares); section 3 of line 2 (Praça Raul Soares/Palácio das Artes/Santa Tereza); section 2 of line 3 (Savassi/Morro do Papagaio); and sections 2 and 3 of line 3 (Morro do Papagaio/Belvedere). "There is no solution for the traffic problems in large cities that doesn't involve the construction and expansion of metro systems. We are investing heavily to provide an alternative for the people of the capital of Minas Gerais," Pimentel argued.

Another project, to be developed in partnership between the state government and the city hall, with resources from the Urban Mobility Pact, is the construction of a metropolitan train line between the Novo Eldorado neighborhood in Contagem and Belvedere in Belo Horizonte. The line will be 37 kilometers long and have 13 stations. The existing railway bed, currently used for freight transport, will be utilized.

The government of Minas Gerais will also receive R$ 177,66 million from the Urban Mobility Pact for the construction of the North Metropolitan Corridor (R$ 100 million) and the development of the project (R$ 910) and execution of the West Metropolitan Corridor (R$ 76,75 million). The resources consist of R$ 89,66 million from the Federal Budget and R$ 88 million in financing. In the North Corridor alone, there will be four kilometers of exclusive bus lanes (BRT) and 14 kilometers of exclusive bus lanes (BRS).

In the West Corridor, there will be 39,7 kilometers of BRS (Bus Rapid Transit). R$12 million has been allocated for the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) project on the Ring Road. The proposal includes the implementation of 29 transfer stations with access walkways and infrastructure along 26 kilometers of the Ring Road, between the São Gabriel station on Avenida Cristiano Machado and BH Shopping.