Rio de Janeiro governor pledges to apply CEDAE concession funds to infrastructure

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Governor Claudio Castro has pledged to invest 100% of funds resulting from the concession of water and sewage services of the State Company of Water and Sewage of Rio de Janeiro (CEDAE) in infrastructure. “I have no doubt that, with the proper management of CEDAE funds, we will get Rio de Janeiro back to generating jobs and opportunities.”

The governor said he intends to create better tax, fiscal, legal and public safety conditions, but mainly, infrastructure.

The governor, on May 24, spoke at the closing of an online debate panel of the Rio Canteiro de Obras, promoted by the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FIRJAN).

Castro said he had no doubts that this is a moment for the Rio de Janeiro economy to recover and stressed the significance of the building industry. He said that previous crises were solved with the sector’s help and that he considers it key for the state’s growth.

The governor pointed out that this relevance can be seen after the CEDAE concession, which offers the state the opportunity to “live a new moment,” which can be translated into legal security. In his opinion, this proves that Rio de Janeiro is, once again, a good place for companies and industries to invest.

Castro recognized that the state needs to “revamp” and added that the infrastructure and building are part of this process. He said that large companies are showing willingness to return to the state. “I have talked with the National Metallurgy Company [CSN], with companies from the metal-mechanical pole and we feel that, in this search, Rio de Janeiro is now returning to better days.”

Reference Center

FIRJAN’s president Eduardo Eugenio Gouvêa Vieira said that in June last year, when the organization presented the Program for the Recovery of the State’s Economy based on competition, the CEDAE concession was regarded as essential, from the social, economic and environmental standpoints, for the benefit of the population.

Vieira evaluated that the concession of CEDAE’s services will result in billions in investments for the state and highlighted that, in this sense, there is no construction site without well prepared executives and workers.

FIRJAN yesterday inaugurated the Senai Sesi of Tijuca Construction Reference Center, the day before Industry Day. “Due to its characteristics, the new center is now considered the most modern and innovative in the country,” he said. According to Vieira, the center is able to meet local, state and national demands.

Courses will be held on-site, online, and in distance learning, and will be designed for operational, technical, and higher education levels. The unit offers technological courses in Industry 4.0 for Steel Frame model buildings, ready and, on average, 60% faster than conventional masonry, and has 19 laboratories.

Capital

Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes also assured that the difficult moments the state and the capital of Rio de Janeiro underwent are being left behind and Rio de Janeiro “is establishing its turning point,” which helps different economic actors in their decision to invest in Brazil.

He referred to the institutional change regarding private investments in the city. Since the he took office, Paes decided to create a less bureaucratic institutional environment that would allow investors to have a more open, qualified environment, “and to roll out the red carpet for those who wish to undertake business in the city of Rio.”

With this goal, the Secretariat of Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification was created, whose task is to cut red tape. According to Paes, this will be done in the urban, environmental, traffic, drainage and concession areas.

Permits will be under the responsibility of this portfolio, using a single desk and enabling swifter processes, based on the premise of self-declaration, which will allow speed and agility.

Building site

Paes said at the event that he wants Rio de Janeiro to go back to being a building site and make Brazil proud with its qualified construction industry and that “it will become even more qualified” with FIRJAN’s new Construction Reference Center.

The search for fiscal balance will enable the Rio city hall to resume its investment capacity, something that is now starting to be the case. Paes believes that, starting mainly in 2022, the city of Rio will regain its investment capacity, whose value “was virtually eliminated” with expenses with payroll and costs, in recent years.

Paes also mentioned the CEDAE concession, which will inject resources in the capital and in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The mayor said that Rio has great experience and disposition and will soon join the state government’s public-private partnerships (PPPs) and concessions, while observing the pact for sustainability, for the protection of the environment, which is an important economic asset, and working with construction.

The mayor said he is expediting changes in urban law in order to build a scenario in which the real estate sector can develop its activities; he cited, in this particular case, the project to revitalize the city center and the Rio port area.