Curitiba, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre Plan Subways
The mayors of Curitiba, Luciano Ducci, of Porto Alegre, José Fortunati, and of Belo Horizonte, Márcio Lacerda, have jointly approved subway projects in all three capital cities and guaranteed the necessary resources from the transportation budget in the growth acceleration plan of the Brazilian Federal Government, or PAC Mobilidade.
During their meeting in Curitiba on Thursday March 3, the three mayors defined joint activities for project enrollment up to May 3 at the Ministry of Cities and June 12 for approval according to the schedule established by the federal government.
“The three capital cities share common interests and similar projects. We are seeking funds on the order of approximately R$2 billion for each city, and we also jointly requesting exemptions for state and federal taxes to reduce subway construction costs, since the project also benefits the federal government,” said Luciano Ducci. “The projects are ahead of schedule, as Curitiba, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre approached the federal government with subway projects nearly three years ago,” he added.
For the mayor of Porto Alegre, José Fortunati, the cooperation of the three capital cities means that they’ll be strong allies in securing the resources from PAC Mobilidade. “I am thoroughly convinced that Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte meet all the requirements needed to get their projects approved. We know that other capitals have also petitioned for a subway, but our cities have a competitive advantage in relation to the others with regard to the maturity of the projects,” Fortunati said. Mayor Fortunati also said that president Dilma made clear her priority of investments in infrastructure projects. “Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte meet the requirements of the federal government,” he added. Porto Alegre’s subway will 15 kilometers long and the cost is estimated at R$ 2.2 billion.
Márcio Lacerda, mayor of Belo Horizonte, said the joint work by the mayors and technical teams would continue to ensure project approval. A meeting in Brasilia is scheduled for after Carnival. “We will ensure that by April 3 our projects will be published on the Internet, taking into account the deadline set by the government. Let’s strike while the iron is hot. We need to reach certain criteria of the federal government in order to meet the June deadline. We hope to have already opened the bids next year to begin construction,” said Márcio Lacerda. The project in Belo Horizonte will expand the existing subway line, which today carries 120,000 passengers per day, and is managed by the federal government. The project is budgeted for R$3.5 billion with investments from the federal government, county, state and private initiative and the goal is to serve 900,000 passengers per day.
The resources that Curitiba is soliciting will be to implement the first phase of the Blue Line, a 14.2 km stretch between the CIC-South station, near the Ceasa, and Rua das Flores in downtown Curitiba. The Project is budgeted at R$ 2.25 billion in its first stage. The total cost of the subway is estimated at R$3.25 billion. The Blue Line will be 22.4 kilometers long in total, from the South Terminal CIC (the intersection of South Boundary with BR 116) to the Santa Cândida Terminal, in the northern suburbs. Five-car trains with a capacity of 1,450 passengers will service 21 stations.
Curitiba Subway by the Numbers:
Length: 22 km (3 km of elevated road, 19 km underground)
Stations: 21, spaced every 1 km, on average.
Route: From the BR highway, the route runs under Rua André Ferreira Barbosa, a distance of 2km to Winston Churchill Av. Via Winston Churchill, it continues under the Express Line coach until Capon Raso Station; the route continues by road onto República Argentina Av. and Sete de Setembro Av. to Eufrásio Correia Square. From the Square, it continues through Barão do Rio Branco Street and Riachuelo to João Gualberto and Paraná Avenues, finally to the Santa Cândida Terminal.
