Loan of $59 million, complemented by local government funding, aims to enhance mobility in the fast-growing Brazilian city
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a loan of up to $59 million for urban infrastructure and transportation improvements in the municipality of Blumenau, state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil . An additional $59 million will be provided by the local government, bringing the total potential investment to $118 million.
With the resources, the local government will be able to improve and expand the integrated urban transportation system, build new transfer terminals, rehabilitate roads and bridges and implement pedestrian walkways and bicycle routes. All these actions are part of the municipality’s urban development program, known as Blumenau 2050.
Investments will also be directed to the Aterro-Fonte bus corridor rehabilitation, the building of two new terminals, Itoupava and Agua Verde, and to institutional strengthening.
“The program’s main goal is to improve quality of life and social-environmental conditions in a city with 1.7 inhabitants per vehicle, one of Brazil’s highest ownership rate”, says Alejandro Taddia, the IDB’s project team leader. Due to a combination of geographic limitations and economic growth, Blumenau, one of the country’s most important industrial areas, has been suffering from inadequate transportation infrastructure.
The IDB’s loan is for a 25-year term, with a five-year grace period, and carries a variable interest rate based on LIBOR.