By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – The federal government of Brazil invested over R$250 billion in the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program) in 2015, according to officials, the equivalent to 24.2 percent of the total to be invested by 2018, of R$1.04 trillion. According to officials, more than R$91 billion was invested in social and urban works, R$63.6 billion in energy and R$4.9 billion in logistics.
For the Planning Ministry, despite the very unfavorable economic scenario faced by Brazil and around the world, the PAC program continues to be a top priority in the country.
“The results of the Growth Acceleration Program for 2015 confirm that it is an important instrument of planning and monitoring priority investments in infrastructure,” said the press release by the Ministry.
The program counts on investments from federal and state governments, state-owned companies and the private sector. Among the infrastructure projects concluded with PAC resources last year are 270km of highways, 163km of the Transnordestina railway in Pernambuco, two waterway passenger terminals in the Northern region of the country, and works in airports, such as Rio’s Santos Dumont.
In infrastructure, the PAC program invested in 108 new eolic (wind) energy enterprises, increasing the installed capacity by more than 2,717 megawatts in the country’s energy matrix. Officials also say more than 445 thousand units were delivered as part of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My Life) program and more than 632 sanitation programs were installed in 584 municipalities throughout the country.
Launched in 2007 under the Lula Administration, the PAC was an attempt by the government to increase economic prosperity. Among its objectives are projects to provide housing, improve sanitation, and increase energy availability to cities throughout Brazil.