RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian businessman Pedro Lacerda, president of the Brazilian-Bolivian Integration Committee, said the construction of the 140-kilometer road has been approved by his country’s authorities and will bring numerous benefits to the Chiquitos region of Bolivia and the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso.
“Brazil is interested in buying salt and urea produced in the Bolivian industrial plant in the department of Cochabamba, since the state of Mato Grosso is a large consumer of these products for agriculture and livestock,” the businessman told EL DEBER in a telephone interview.
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For various reasons, the binational meeting between Brazilian authorities and representatives of the Plurinational State of Bolivia scheduled for April 29 has been postponed until May 29, Lacerda said.
The meeting will take place in the Brazilian city of Cuiabá and will be attended by the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Luis Arce Catacora, ministers, parliamentarians, including the president of the National Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, the president of the Municipal Association of Santa Cruz (Amdecruz), Hediberto Cuéllar, Ruddy Dorado, mayor of San Ignacio de Velasco, as well as industrialists and ranchers from both countries were invited, who will reach agreements for the implementation of the works to be financed by Brazil.
The road link between Vila Bela and San Ignacio de Velasco is of great importance to both countries for the economic development of the border towns, the promotion of tourism, the purchase of timber from Bolivia and other commercial aspects, said Pedro Lacerda.
A project that has been promoted for decades by brothers Marcio and Pedro Lacerda, which has raised expectations in both countries and is now gradually becoming a reality, as the study to design the Vila Bela – San Ignacio de Velasco line has already been approved.
The project is 140 kilometers long. In the first stage, the 80-kilometer stretch between Vila Bela and Palmarito, the border between the two countries, will be paved. The second stage will go to San Ignacio de Velasco and is expected to be 70 kilometers in a straight line.
The Mato Grosso state government decided to build the Brazil-Bolivia integration road because it will bring numerous benefits: It will promote national, regional and international physical integration, increase transport safety, reduce operating costs, increase passenger and freight traffic, and facilitate access of products and services to both countries’ domestic and foreign markets, Lacerda said.
“Buying salt, urea and wood from Bolivia is a great deal because it saves us the long distances and costs that these products bought elsewhere have to travel to get to Mato Grosso,” the businessman said.
The San Ignacio City Council explained that this project will also have an impact on the quality of life of residents of rural Bolivian communities and mission towns in the Chiquitania region, which have a lot of history and attractions to offer Brazilian tourism and have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.