Rio, September 11, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) will support the recovery of the railroad equipment manufacturing park, which has been idle for four years. Support for the railroad system involves resources on the order of US$ 3-4 billion over the next four years, not only for the construction of new railway lines but also to re-equip the industry in Brazil, informed the vice-president of the BNDES, Darc Costa.

He informed that various railroad infrastructure projects are included in the federal government's program. The resources are already being made available to the railroads," because they face a serious problem, when one considers that the regulatory guide-post for the railway sector is a disaster," observed the vice-president of the BNDES.

Costa affirmed that the country, to be able to compete in the world and to export, requires an infrastructure that will lower the "Brazil cost factor." This means, in his view, a infrastructure capable of allowing merchandise to be moved at a lower costs than the ones that currently prevail. (DAS)