The vast Brazilian state of Amazonas is one of the poorest in the entire country, and one of the main reasons is that it is barely accessible.
With an area of 1,570,745.7 km2, the state is about the size of Iran or Mongolia and larger than Peru, Colombia, or Angola, and has no expressway at all.
Can you imagine Iran or Mongolia without a single safe federal highway? Probably not.
But this is exactly what the inhabitants of the Amazon state have had to endure until now.
That’s why Brazil’s environmental agency, IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis), on Thursday (28) granted initial approval for the construction of a major federal highway through the middle of the Amazon rainforest.
President Bolsonaro had promised during the election campaign to renovate BR-319, which would finally connect the largest Amazon city of Manaus with the rest of Brazil year-round.
The road was originally built by Brazil’s military government in the 1970s but quickly deteriorated in the harsh conditions of the rainforest. Much of the road is an impassable muddy stretch during the rainy season, which lasts about 6 months.
Alarmists and climate activists say the road’s expansion would make it easier for illegal loggers and land grabbers to access remote and relatively untouched forest areas, leading to more deforestation.
That may be possible, but what this important lifeline will really do, is connect the Amazon to the rest of the giant country, making its inhabitants less isolated and allowing trade and exchange to flourish.
The first license will allow the government to hire companies to pave the largest median section of the road, which is in poor condition.
The contractors will draw up plans but will need another license to begin construction. Bolsonaro celebrated the approval in his weekly live Internet address.
“I hope that soon there will be another license, and our Ministry of Transport will be able to start the tendering and works for the construction of BR-319,” he said.