Aracaju, the capital of the Brazilian northeastern state of Sergipe, will get a $30.2 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods and upgrade the public transport system.
The loan, approved yesterday, is the tenth operation under Brazil’s Procidades, the credit mechanism that finances integrated urban development programs for municipalities in Brazil
IDB project leader Fernanda Magalhães emphasized the importance of this program to Aracaju’s development, especially as “the city will be able to address its key priorities to improve the quality of life of its citizens”.
Aracaju, which has over half a million residents, will use this IDB financing to also revitalize its city center, and to finance the strengthening the municipal government’s planning and strategic capacities. Local counterpart funds for this loan total $30.2 million.
With the Aracaju financing, the Procidades credit mechanism has to date approved 10 loans for a total of $246.6 million, covering municipalities in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul and Sergipe.
In the remaining of 2009, two additional programs, one for Manaus in the state of Amazonas, and the other one for the municipality of Catanduva in the State of São Paulo are also expected to reach to their approval.