Brasília, July 11, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - In a debate today on the House TV station, the Minister of Cities, Olívio Dutra, warned about the possibility of collapse in the metropolisses, ten years from now, unless investments are made and basic sanitation projects are executed. Dutra announced that his Ministry also has its eye on small cities, where, if people's basic needs are respected, they will avoid seeking help in the large urban centers, thus reducing the pockets of poverty.

Dutra told Deputies Gustavo Fruet (PMDB-PR), Neyde Aparecida (PT-GO), and Roberto Magalhães (PTB-PE), who took part in the debate, that, together with segments of the construction industry, he is analyzing private sector participation in public policies. The Minister said that at the next Conference of Cities, they should discuss the formation of consortiums involving municipalities, Ministries, and the private sector to seek more resources, beyond those that the federal government has obtained from the World Bank (IBRD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Deputy Roberto Magalhães, ex-mayor of Recife, said that he is concerned, because, in addition to the sanitation problem, urban and transportation policies should receive the attention of government leaders. The Minister replied that private initiative "has an important role in the production of urban space. We think that this sector needs to be stimulated." However, in his opínion, private initiative has to make mass transportation more "accessible," better to meet the needs of the millions of people who use it, mainly to go to work. "It is necessary to take care of the integration between subways, urban trains, and buses," he affirmed. (DAS)