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03.26.08
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BNDES approves R$ 176.6 million to subways in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro
The Board of Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social [BNDES] approved two financings, in the total amount of R$ 176.6 million, for construction and modernization works to the Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza subways - specifically, R$ 34.3 million to the State of Rio de Janeiro and R$ 142.3 million to the State of Ceará.
The R$ 142.3 million support to Fortaleza subway [Metrofor] will be for the construction of the first phase of the South Line Metrofor, between the Vila das Flores and João Felipe stations. The project is part of the Growth Acceleration Plan [PAC] and is estimated at R$ 804.3 million, of which BNDES will have a 17.7% share.
The financing to the Rio de Janeiro subway is for adequating the operating structure to new traffic and ticketing technologies. BNDES's share is R$ 34.3 million, equivalent to 62% of the R$ 55,6 million estimated for the project. The funds will be directed to investments in the refurbishing of the passenger railway cars, in Information Technology (IT), in traffic engineering and in maintenance. The cars will be renovated to receive a greater number of passengers.
Once the system is modernized, the number of seats will increase by 3.57% and 2.11% in Line 1 and 2, respectivelly, offering passengers greater comfort, safety and reliability. In the last five years the volume of passengers transported increased by an average 4.2% per year.
The project also provides for a unified ticketing system, based on no-contact, smart-type cards with chips. The purpose is to integrate present systems so as to allow revenue operation and control, as well as collection and processing of passenger-flow data.
Incorporated in January, 1998, in April of the same year Opportrans Concessão Metroviária S.A. started its operations in passenger subway transportation, in the City of Rio de Janeiro, through a 20-year services concession, renewable for an equivalent period. Opportrans has adopted Metrô Rio as a brand name.
Metrofor - Companhia Cearense de Transportes Metropolitanos [Metrofor] is a publicly traded corporation and will be the intervenient in charge of the project, which until 2011 will generate 700 direct jobs in the company itself. The implementation stage will create 2.5 thousand jobs, in civil construction and rolling-stock manufacturing, in order to meet the orders from the involved sectors.
Broken down into three stages, Metrofor will link the capital of the State of Ceará to the Cities of Maracanaú, Pacatuba, Caucaia and Maranguape, in the Fortaleza metropolitan region. It is a large operation, with urbanistic, environmental, social and economic impactx on the whole region.
To give one an idea of the social impact resulting from the construction of the Fortaleza subway, the number of passengers transported each day will rise from the current 10 thousand to 158 thousand by 2011, with 18 stations and 10 trains.
The endeavor supported by BNDES will therefore help mitigate serious urban circulation problems and reduce operating, railroad maintenance and fuel consumption costs. It will also create a fast transportation alternative for workers from difficult-access areas.
From an environmental point of view, the project will put into operation a non-polluting electric-traction transportation system and help reduce the number of buses and automobiles on the streets. A possible consequence would be the generation of carbon credits, because of the reduction in CO2 emissions, as well as the improvement in worker productivity resulting from decreased traveling time and less accidents.
Additionally, the transfer from surface to underground will call for the urban renewal of degraded areas, allowing them new uses such as pedestrian-only areas, and thus enhance the quality of life.
Support to the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo subways - BNDES has been financing the São Paulo subway since the 80's, either through the acquisition of a considerable part of the train fleet or through varied investments, especially in line 3. Among these are the implementation of a traffic-signal system, of the Barra Funda substation and of the Itaquera railway yard.
The Bank approved a financing for the expansion of Line 2 - Green, between Alto Ipiranga and Vila Prudente and three stations (Sacomã, Tamanduateí and Vila Prudente), in addition to a railway yard and the acquisition of 16 trains and six railway cars. The credit was of R$ 1.6 billion, for a total investment of R$ 2.1 billion.
The São Paulo subway expansions allowed the present network, operating 4 lines and lengthened by 61.3 kilometers expansion, to transport 3 million passengers every day.
BNDES has also financed, since 1982, the structuring of the Rio de Janeiro subway system. The Bank's support to these investments represented the equivalent of approximately R$ 1.7 billion - 61% of total investments.
The main items implemented with BNDES financing were the expansion of Line 1, the acquisition of trains, and the expansion of Line 2 to Pavuna. Currently being implemented with BNDES financing are the completion of the Operating Recovery Programs of Lines 1 and 2 and the expansion of Line 1 between Cantagalo and General Osório.
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