Novo PAC - Brazil's new Growth Acceleration Program
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva launched the country’s New Growth Acceleration Program (Novo Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento/PAC) last Friday (August 11) at at a very special venue: Rio de Janeiro’s historic Municipal Theater. The Novo PAC is to invest BRL 1.7 trillion across all Brazilian states.
These Novo PAC investments – which include resources from Brazil’s General Budget (Orçamento Geral da União/OGU) – add up to BRL 371 billion; by state-owned companies, to BRL 343 billion; from financing, to BRL 362 billion; and by the private sector, to BRL 612 billion.
A strong partnership between the federal government and the private sector, states, municipalities and social movements is one of the new program’s main features; it intends to generate jobs and income as well as reduce social and regional inequalities. This is a joint and committed effort towards ecological transition, neo-industrialization, growth alongside social inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
As of September – and within the scope of the Novo PAC –, Brazil’s federal government is going to launch public notices that add up to BRL 136 billion to select other priority projects for states and municipalities in the following fields:
- Cities: urbanization of slums, water supply, sewage, solid waste, urban mobility and prevention of natural disasters;
- Health: Basic Health Centers (Unidades Básicas de Saúde/UBS), polyclinics and maternity hospitals;
- Education: kindergartens, schools and school buses;
- Culture: Unified Arts and Sports Centers (Centro de Artes e Esportes Unificados/CEUs) and historical heritage projects;
- Sports: community sports venues.
The New PAC is organized in Institutional Measures and nine Investment Axes
The Institutional Measures are an articulated set of normative management and planning acts that contribute to the sustained expansion of public and private investments in Brazil. There are five major groups:
- Improvement of the Regulatory Environment and of Environmental Licensing;
- Credit Expansion and Economic Incentives;
- Improvement of Concession Mechanisms and Public-private partnerships (Parcerias público-privadas/PPPs);
- Alignment with Brazil’s Ecological Transition Plan;
- Public Planning, Management and Procurement.
The Novo PAC also includes new lines of action such as DIGITAL INCLUSION AND CONNECTIVITY so as to bring high-speed internet to all public schools and health centers. As well as expanding 5G, it will bring a 4G network to highways and remote regions. Total investment: BRL 28 billion.
In the HEALTH axis, new basic health centers, polyclinics, maternity hospitals and new ambulances will be built and bought to improve access to specialized treatment. The Novo PAC also invests in the health industrial complex, strengthening the supply of vaccines and blood products, and in telehealth to increase efficiency – at all service levels – to the population. Total investment: BRL 31 billion.
The construction of kindergartens, full-time schools and the modernization and expansion of Federal Institutes and Universities are priorities in EDUCATION. The program will boost students’ permanence in schools, literacy at the correct age, and scientific production in Brazil. Total investment: BRL 45 billion.
Education initiatives come alongside those belonging to the SOCIAL AND INCLUSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE axis, which will ensure the population’s access to cultural, sports and leisure venues, focusing on social interaction and reducing violence. Total investment: BRL 2 billion.
In order for cities to adapt to climate change and offer better quality of life to their populations, the SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT CITIES axis will build new housing through the Minha Casa Minha Vida program, as well as finance acquisition of real estate. The Novo PAC will also invest in the modernization of urban mobility in a sustainable way; in urbanization of slums; sewage; solid waste management; and in containing eroding hillslopes and fighting floods. Total investment: BRL 610 billion.
The WATER FOR ALL axis will guarantee quality and quantity of water for the population, reaching even the most remote areas of Brazil. Investments in water resources strengthen communities in the face of water and climate challenges. The Novo PAC invests in the revitalization of watersheds through integrated preservation, conservation and recovery initiatives. Total investment: BRL 30 billion.
The EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT axis brings together investments in highways, railways, ports, airports and waterways across all Brazilian states, in order to reduce the costs of production for the domestic market and increase Brazil's competitiveness abroad. Total investment: BRL 349 billion.
And to meet the challenge of energy transition and security, 80% of the added electricity capacity will come from renewable sources. Through the Luz para Todos program, the Novo PAC will universalize service in the Brazilian Northeast, and anticipate the universalization of isolated communities in Legal Amazon. Investments in the pre-salt layer will expand production capacity for derivatives and low-carbon fuels in Brazil. The TRANSITION AND ENERGY SECURITY axis guarantees the diversity of the energy matrix, Brazilian sovereignty, and energy security and efficiency for the country to grow at an accelerated pace, generating employment, income and social inclusion. Total investment: BRL 540 billion.
Investments in the INNOVATION FOR THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY axis will equip Brazil with state-of-the-art technologies and increase national defense capacity. Total investment: BRL 53 billion.
Novo PAC is back to change life in Brazil today and for future generations.
For more information, please check out the following presentation on the program.