The water transfer project is the "beginning" of a solution against drought.
The Minister of National Integration, Fernando Bezerra Coelho, said that the transposition of the São Francisco River is "only the beginning" of the solution to the drought in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil; the minister downplayed the delay in the transposition works, which should have been completed in 2012, and noted that the expenses for the transposition represent R$ 8 billion of a total of R$ 30 billion invested by the Federal Government in the region in recent years.
Ivan Richard
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Brasilia - The Minister of National Integration, Fernando Bezerra Coelho, said today (8), during a debate on the drought in the Brazilian Northeast in the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, that the transposition of the São Francisco River is “only the beginning” of the solution to the drought in the Northeastern Semi-Arid region. The work, resumed during the government of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, should have been completed in 2012, but is still underway.
The minister downplayed the delay in the water transfer project and pointed to a series of measures that have been taken to mitigate the effects of the drought. According to him, investments in the water transfer project represent R$ 8 billion of a total of R$ 30 billion that the government has been investing in the Semi-Arid region in recent years with resources from the two phases of the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC).
“All of these projects are being implemented. I'm not talking about plans, I'm talking about projects that have been tendered, started, are underway, and will therefore make it possible, for the first time in the history of the semi-arid Northeast, to build a water infrastructure that will allow the Brazilian Northeast to achieve the long-awaited water security,” said Bezerra.
“I would like to draw attention to one fact: of the R$ 30 billion we are investing, the water transfer project only accounts for R$ 8,2 billion. Therefore, the water security of the Brazilian Northeast is not exhausted by the water transfer project. The water transfer project is just the beginning of bringing the waters of the São Francisco River closer to the driest and most needy areas. The water transfer project will be the mother of other projects,” the minister stated.
According to Fernando Bezerra, during former President Lula's administration, R$ 6,5 billion was invested in the Semi-Arid region, with R$ 2 billion going towards initiating the São Francisco River diversion project. Under Dilma Rousseff's government, the minister pointed out, approximately R$ 18 billion is being allocated until 2014. "There is also the expectation of investments of another R$ 2 billion during 2015, because these are projects that will not be completed by 2014," he added.
According to the minister, solving the drought problems in the Northeast requires reflecting on what has been done and what was promised but never fulfilled. "It is up to us to reflect on what has been done throughout history, the measures and initiatives that have been taken, the programs that have been implemented, or what has not been done, what was promised, what has been lost from this platform in mere words that have not translated into action," he said.