Brazil’s highways have been suffering from lack of resources for at least ten years. The result is a system that is in need of repairs on the order of US$ 3.3 billion (8 billion reais).
This worrisome picture was portrayed by the executive secretary of the Ministry of Transportation, Paulo Sérgio Oliveira Passos, who participated, Tuesday, June 28, in the 1st Senate Debates Brazil Forum, in the National Congress, on the topic, “Transportation: Obstacles and Prospects.”
According to Passos, in the past ten years “the Ministry of Transportation invested much less than would be reasonable to maintain the system adequately.”
The secretary affirms that the government is working to refurbish the highways, giving priority to “the major highway routes that are used to transport agricultural products.”
Passos says that the government will try to improve the situation by spending US$ 422 million (R$ 1 billion) on maintenance this year.
The money will come from an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), allowing some federal government investments not be counted as expenditures.
The secretary affirmed that priority in the use of these funds will be given to federal highways BR-116 and BR-153, which are connections between the North and the South of the country.
ABr