Brasília, August 12, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The federal government will invest R$ 191.4 billion in infrastructure over the next four years. These resources are included in the 2004-2007 Pluriannual Plan (PPA). The President met yesterday (11) with the Vice-President, José Alencar, 12 Ministers, and presidents of state enterprises, in the Planalto Palace, to take cognizance of each Ministry's infrastructure projects.

According to Presidential spokesman, André Singer, the government's priorities will be on projects in the areas of transportation, electricity, sanitation, housing, and water infrastructure.

The meeting got underway with a presentation by the Minister of Planning, Guido Mantega, on projects that will be executed under the PPA, by order of priority and at low cost. "President Lula opened the meeting asking Minister Mantega to present, in order of priority, feasible projects that could begin their execution immediately with available resources. That is, a realistic plan," Singer emphasized.

The projects discussed by the President and the other Ministers are included in the PPA. The R$ 191.4 billion will be raised by the government in partnership with the private sector. The presidents of the Bank of Brazil, the Federal Savings Bank, the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES), and Petrobras participated in the meeting to inform the government about the availability of resources for infrastructure projects.

The Presidential spokesman did not provide details on the projects under consideration. He said only that the orientation given by President Lula is to choose priority projects to be implemented "as quickly as possible." According to Singer, the meeting was the third in a series of encounters to define the government's priorities in the PPA, since the end of August is the deadline for the plan to be submitted to the National Congress, so that it can be voted by the end of the year. (DAS)