New Detran-RJ office will be on the Island.

247_ Ilha do Governador, in the North Zone of Rio, was chosen as the location to house a new unit of the Rio de Janeiro Department of Motor Vehicles (Detran). The building will begin operating in 2013 and will concentrate all the agency's services, including electronic testing and medical and psychological exams for driver's license applicants. The inspection sector of the Reference Service Unit, as the post is officially called, will have 32 lines, a capacity surpassed only by the Barra da Tijuca unit, in the West Zone, which will have 36 lines.

The new unit will be built on an area of ​​27.355 square meters, on Estrada das Canárias, which was ceded by the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero) for a period of 15 years, renewable for another 15, and which is located near Tom Jobim/Galeão International Airport. The Term of Assignment of Use of Area was signed by the acting governor, Luiz Fernando Pezão, by the president of Detran, Fernando Avelino, and the president of Infraero, Antônio Gustavo Matos do Vale, on the morning of this Thursday (29), at Palácio Guanabara.

For Governor Pezão, the transfer of the area, in addition to enabling the revitalization of a degraded location next to the Parque Royal community, was also a significant step. Pezão recalled that the airport will receive millions of visitors in the coming years due to the extensive calendar of planned mega-events and the growth of the Rio de Janeiro state economy. "This region is a strategic area for the State of Rio de Janeiro. The airport will increasingly become the state's main gateway," he stated.

The work will be carried out by the Public Works Company (Emop) within ten months. The bidding process for the execution of the detailed design will take place on the 20th of next month. The facility will have the capacity to receive 506.880 vehicles/year, a track for practical motorcycle driving tests (115.200 tests/year), a parking test area for four-wheeled vehicles (69.120 tests/year), a driver's license station (107.640 users/year), and a civil identification station (27.720 users/year).

The head of the Department of Motor Vehicles (Detran) said that the unit will serve not only the residents of Ilha do Governador but also those from the entire capital and even neighboring cities, due to its strategic location. He also emphasized the excellence of the facilities, which, in his opinion, will be a benchmark for Detrans throughout the country.

"The Service Reference Unit will demonstrate our respect for our clients and represent a technological advancement by featuring state-of-the-art equipment, such as tracks for practical driving tests for four-wheeled and two-wheeled vehicles. It offers all Detran services in a single area, with complete comfort," said Avelino.

The president of Infraero, Antônio Gustavo Matos do Vale, justified the transfer as a way to give the site a proper purpose, preventing the possibility of invasion and increasing security for the island's residents and tourists using Tom Jobim Airport. According to him, the Detran project will not cause any problems for aircraft approach. "And it will also allow us to have a completely urbanized area. In return, Infraero will help a public body to provide essential services to society," Vale explained.

The president of Infraero considers Tom Jobim one of the fastest-growing airports managed by the state-owned company in the country, due to the state's economic development in recent years, and said that, after the privatization of Guarulhos, in São Paulo, the terminal on Ilha do Governador is now the largest in the network, due to the volume of cargo and passengers handled daily.