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Rio City Hall and BNDES announce partnerships in culture and urban mobility
Published on 22/05/2023 - 16:38 | Updated
Valongo Wharf. Photo: Marcos de Paula/City of Rio Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and the president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Aloísio Mercadante, announced on Monday (22/5) the creation of a fund to finance actions to promote Afro-Brazilian culture in the territory of Pequena África, in the port region. Also among the development actions, which should be detailed by the bank, is the resumption of financing for cultural activities in downtown Rio. Eduardo Paes also reported that BNDES and the City Hall are negotiating the bank's financing of the works of the Campo Grande mobility plan.
– All of this will rescue Rio’s downtown area. It’s not just a state policy to take care of public spaces, which are also needed. It’s about bringing people to the city center. Much of Brazil’s historical events took place here in the city center, which was the capital of the Colony, the Empire, and the Republic. Reviving this city center is the most appropriate measure, but not only from an urban planning and urban planning perspective. We also need to think about preserving, caring for, and showing affection for our country’s history – the mayor emphasized.
The Porto Maravilha project recovered an area of 5 million square meters of the city, transforming it into a residential, tourist, entertainment and business hub. Excavations for this project revealed the stones of the Valongo Wharf, the largest slave port in the Americas. The largest Public Private Partnership in the country at the time invested not only in infrastructure works, but also in the recovery of historical, architectural and cultural heritage, such as the Valongo Hanging Garden and the creation of the Little Africa circuit.
The creation of a place that highlights the history of the black diaspora and the formation of Brazil was highlighted by the mayor, who also recalled the efforts that public entities have undertaken to recover the region.
The president of BNDES, Aloísio Mercadante, announced that the cultural funding notice will guarantee cultural activities for at least two years in the city center, in order to contribute to the repopulation of the central area of Rio.
– We are going to open a new fund and seek partners to strengthen it, to promote Little Africa, to make it a cultural territory. It is a pre-salt of black history and culture in Brazil. It is something very strong and beautiful. Let’s start the process. We are going to build a museum, restore a historic building and help create another cultural center, which I think could be an international reference – said the president of BNDES.
BNDES will also finance works for the Campo Grande mobility plan
The mayor of Rio also spoke about the financing of the Campo Grande mobility plan, where construction of the new ring road has already begun. The project, with an investment of around R$1 billion, will implement a new underpass, a tunnel, expressways and cycle paths that should significantly improve traffic in Rio's largest neighborhood.
The mayor reported that BNDES and the City Hall are negotiating financing for the works, which will guarantee the completion of the entire project designed by the municipal administration.
– The City Hall has made a great effort to restore mobility in the city, in public transportation, especially in the poorest areas. Anyone who follows Rio’s life in the slightest knows that the poorest people have been suffering in recent years, especially in the West Zone, due to the abandonment of the public transportation network. The City Hall has been making a solitary effort in this recovery. I spent the last two years with the City Hall’s resources. Now, it is great to see BNDES once again believing in the city, in the country, and especially in public investment – he concluded.
about the works
The works in Campo Grande include the construction of a tunnel under Avenida Cesário de Melo, an express connection between Estrada da Caroba and Estrada da Posse, with the construction of a 600-meter tunnel with two galleries under Morro Luiz Bom. The new routes will allow for more efficient traffic flow in the region, reducing travel time and thus facilitating circulation in the center of Campo Grande.
Improvements are also planned at the intersections between Arthur Rios Street and Cesário de Melo Avenue, on Estrada da Caroba with the Carlos Alberto Moreira da Cunha viaduct (new Campo Grande viaduct) and the implementation of two kilometers of cycle paths.
The project will also bring a new forest to the Posse region, which will be the green lung in the heart of Campo Grande. In an area of 950 thousand m² – equivalent to more than 130 football fields – the new Posse Forest will be implemented. The project foresees the planting of 240 thousand trees and the recovery of water sources, in addition to the protection of native fauna and flora.
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