About the Barão do Rio Branco Program

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Since last week, part of the national and international media has conveyed misguided information about the Barão do Rio Branco Program of the Brazil´s Special Secretariat for Strategic Affairs. In order to provide accurate information about the Program, it was decided to publish this summary in topics:

1. The Barão do Rio Branco Program is still under discussion. This debate involves the population who lives in the region of Pará and representatives of federal and local governments in order to examine the initiatives that might be developed in the Calha Norte region.
2. In this context, the Special Secretariat for Strategic Affairs (SAE/SG/PR) organized a round table to dialogue about the Barão do Rio Branco Program to further dialogue with civil society, academics and local authorities.
3. This event, which took place in Belém, Pará, on April 25 ^th , was structured in four dialogue sections in which the public could participate to discuss the program under four different perspectives: Calha Norte geopolitics and integration; Economic potential of Calha Norte region; infrastructure in the Calha Norte region, and economic and social environment situation in the Calha Norte region.
4. None of the materials presented during the event is an official document of the Barão do Rio Branco Program, but only information to guide the debates. The opinions and suggestions collected during the discussion will guide the studies about the Barão do Rio Branco Program.
5. The main idea is to create an interministerial group responsible for the studies and the conduction of the program.
6. If this group is, in fact, created, what is expected is that projects of the program promote the development and integration of the Calha Norte region in order to benefit the local population, mostly of them living under poverty.
7. Thus, there is no established date for the beginning of construction works, since all studies and projects are yet to be carried out and still depend on the creation of the proposed interministerial group.
8. The expectation is that a development closter would be made possible, by increasing the presence of state institutions in the region.  A larger presence of state institutions in the region would also be a guarantee for the respect of citizenship and environmental concerns, as well as the preservation of wealth for future generations and the struggle against illegal activities.

Concerning the possibilities under discussion:

• Construction of a bridge over the Amazon River: the initial proposal suggested it could be built in the city of Óbidos.  This bridge woul allow free mobility for approximately 800,000 inhabitants living in the cities of Almerim, Alenquer, Belterra, Curuá, Faro, Juruti, Monte Alegre, Moz Port, Placa, Prainha, Óbidos, Oriximiná, Santarém and Holy Land, who today all depend on river transport, often unavailable due to weather conditions.

The bridge would also enable the integration of intermodal transportation (water, road and rairoad) with a direct impact on the reduction of the cost of freight for grain transport in the region, since the port of the city of Óbidos has a 14m draft capable of allowing the mooring of 30,000-ton ships during the ebb phase.

• Extension of BR-163: will allow the integration, by land, of the state of Amapá, through the interconnection between BR and Perimetral Norte (BR-210).  The interconnection between these two highways and the construction of the bridge over the Amazon River would benefit about 2 million inhabitants, including the population of Amapá (751,000 inhabitants) and the population of Roraima (497, 000 inhabitants).

• Construction of a hydroelectric dam in Calha Norte, in the Trombetas region: it is estimated to generate about 3,000 MW of power, enabling energy security through load stability due to the annual variation of water regime in the region.  This hydroelectric plant would also enable the industrialization of alumina-aluminum ore, which is abundant in the municipalities of Calha Norte, mainly in Oriximá and Óbidos, as well as the reduction of public expenses with fuel oil from thermoelectric plants, with a direct impact in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

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