Brasília, September 17, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Ministry of Cities will liberate over R$ 540 million by the end of this month for basic sanitation projects in municipalities throughout the country. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Minister Olívio Dutra, at the inauguration of the new president of the Executive Council of the Workers Assistance Fund (Codefat), Lourival Dantas.

"We shall be liberating contracts worth more than R$ 540 million for muncipal companies or autonomous agencies or state public enterprises to carry out basic sanitation projects in various regions of the country, but mainly for the most impoverished and neediest sectors of our urban population," the Minister declared.

According to Dutra, the Ministry's priority is to serve families that earn up to three minimum wages. According to him, of the total of R$ 5.3 billion that the federal government announced in April, R$ 2.2 billion have already been allocated for the construction of housing and improvements, such as water and sewage treatment. For the Minister, Codefat resources are important for urban infrastructure, housing, and sanitation.

"There we have the BNDES (National Economic and Social Development Bank) and the CEF (Federal Savings Bank) itself directing these resources, as well as the Ministry of Cities responsible for policies intended to make these resources, derived from the workers, return to the workers in the form of a better quality of life, through housing, basic sanitation, enhancing the quality of life and improving the urban environment," the Minister completed. (DAS)