On Friday, Aug. 11, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a new infrastructure plan of 1.7 trillion reais ($350 billion), spanning four years, to help develop new highways and ports, as well as energy development projects (of varying efficiency) in Brazil.
In launching the “Growth Acceleration Program” (PAC), at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro attended by government ministers, state governors, and private sector representatives, Lula da Silva stated: “More than a public investment portfolio, the new PAC is a collective compromise ... born out of many conversations with governors and mayors.” This will ensure that the projects chosen “will reflect the specific needs of each of the country’s regions,” he added.
“We have made the moral commitment in this new PAC to resume the construction of thousands of works; to no longer let poor management or almost-obsessive fiscal austerity to leave our people’s most just aspirations half-met,” he explained in referencing the provisions in the PAC for building houses, schools, hospitals and new roads.
