Urban mobility projects total R$ 6,4 billion.
The governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos, and the mayor of Recife, Geraldo Júlio, both from the PSB party, jointly requested between R$ 4 billion and R$ 6,4 billion from the Ministries of Cities and Planning to improve traffic in the capital of Pernambuco; the requested funds are part of a R$ 50 billion federal government package that will be invested in urban mobility projects and improving the quality of public transportation throughout the country.
PE247 – The governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos, and the mayor of Recife, Geraldo Júlio, both from the PSB party, requested, this Wednesday (10), from the Ministries of Cities and Planning an amount between R$ 4 billion and R$ 6,4 billion. The funds to be applied are part of a R$ 50 billion package that will be invested in urban mobility works and improvement of the quality of public transport, announced by President Dilma Rousseff (PT), on the 24th.
“We are able to implement all of these proposals by the first half of next year, and in some cases, we may even have construction underway in the second half of 2013, which is very important. This moment is a crucial action, in which the Federal Government, States, and municipalities are joining forces to respond to the rapid investments needed to improve the quality of urban passenger transport,” said Campos.
Among the projects presented during the meeting with Ministers Aguinaldo Ribeiro (Cities) and Miriam Belchior (Planning), the one requiring the largest amount of resources is the Avenida Norte project, with R$ 4,1 billion for the implementation of a subway or R$ 2,1 billion for the construction of a monorail. “It could be a subway branch, it could be a monorail line. We are providing alternatives to help the Federal Government define priorities that will truly impact the quality of life of the population,” stated the governor.
The work on Avenida Norte will be carried out through a partnership between the State Government and the Recife City Hall (PCR), as well as on the Southern River Corridor, to stimulate passenger transport along the Capibaribe River, and in the integration of the North/South and East/West corridors. According to the Folha Blog, R$ 172 million has been requested to be applied to these last two projects.
The government is also requesting funds for the construction of 8,6 kilometers (km) of a Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) in downtown Recife (R$ 1 billion) and on Avenida Conselheiro Aguiar, in the southern part of the city (R$ 1 billion). Investments will also be made in the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Avenida Abdias de Carvalho, in the western part of the city (5,5 km budgeted at R$ 5,5 million), Avenida Mascarenhas de Moraes, in the southern part of the city (8 km/R$ 8 million), Avenida Domingos Ferreira, also in the southern part of the city (11,5 km/R$ 11,5 million), and Avenida Beberibe, in the northern part of the city (3,5 km/R$ 3,4 million). Other complementary actions, related to pavement rehabilitation, are budgeted at R$ 67,2 million.
But it's not only in Recife that the government intends to invest. In Caruaru, the main municipality in the Pernambuco Agreste region, the idea is to invest R$ 187 million in the creation of a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system, and in Petrolina, the largest economy in the Sertão region, the budget is R$ 85 million.