News Releases

Aug 13, 2007

IDB approved US$500,000 for preparation of Portais da Cidade Program in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Financing to structure a public-private-partnership for Bus Rapid Transit infrastructure

The Inter-American Development Bank today announced the approval of a US$500,000 grant from its Infrastructure Fund (InfraFund) for feasibility studies to support the development of the Portais da Cidade program in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The funding will be used by the municipality of Porto Alegre, capital of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, for the preparation of a program that will develop a sustainable Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. The program will improve the accessibility and mobility of the population and will reduce vehicle emissions by providing high-quality transit infrastructure and technology.

This technical cooperation will support studies to strengthen the municipal institutional capacity and to develop a financial model and legal structure for the program with private sector participation.

The BRT infrastructure of the program will consist of segregated busways for high-capacity low-emission buses, stations with pre-board fare collection and fare verification, a centralized control system, and three terminals (portals) to facilitate easy physical integration between feeder services and other transit modes. Commercial and public services will be available at the terminals.

This will be an innovative project in which the private sector will participate in the design, investment, operation and maintenance of urban transportation infrastructure through a public-private partnership model. The project will also evaluate the potential of carbon credits from reductions of green house emissions brought by the program.

The IDB resources will be used for consulting services to conduct technical economic and financial feasibility studies and preparation of legal documents and contract structuring for the tendering process.

InfraFund

The purpose of the IDB’s InfraFund is to support the development of infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean by helping private, public and mixed-capital entities in the region identify and prepare bankable, sustainable projects.

The US$20 million fund approved its first operation in December 2006 with a US$1 million project for the creation of a Brazilian Public-Private Partnership Development Facility designed to promote the development of concessions and public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects.

InfraFund has also approved funding for projects in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Paraguay. To date, a total of US$7.6 million has been approved for infrastructure project preparation through InfraFund.

The Inter-American Development Bank is the primary source of multilateral financing for economic, social and institutional development projects and for regional integration programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB plans to approve US$12 billion for infrastructure projects in the region over the next five years.

Also available in: Português, Español