Rio, January 16, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The dredging of the port of Rio de Janeiro is the main theme of the meeting that Antônio Carlos Soares, president of the Docks Company of Rio de Janeiro, linked to the Ministry of Transportation, will hold today with the executive manager of the Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) in the state, Edson Bedim de Azeredo, and Federal Deputy Fernando Gabeira.

The president of the company will provide "the technical explanations that support the improbability of environmental risk" as a result of the dredging operations.

The project to eliminate peaks or saliences that have accumulated in some spots in the port of Rio was initiated on Monday (12). The plan includes the removal of 80 thousand cubic meters of sediment by February 7, to assure an increase in the draft from the current 9.7 meters, on average, to 10.6 meters, revealed Soares's advisers.

The environmental license to carry out the project was granted by the FEEMA - State Environmental Engineering Foundation. Of the material that is being removed, plastic bottles are being sent by the Docks Company for recycling, while sand, clay, and other materials are being dumped in mid-ocean, 6 kilometers from Ilha Rasa (Shallow Island). (DAS)