Brasília, November 11, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Tomorrow (12) the government will send the National Congress the bill on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), the objective of which is to make it possible for the private sector to participate in infrastructure projects and public services. This information was provided today by the Minister of Planning, Budget, and Management, Guido Mantega, who participated in a public hearing on the 2003/2007 Pluriannual Plan at the Senate Commission on Infrastructure.

The Minister hopes that the project will be voted as quickly as possible, so that the partnerships can be implanted starting in 2004. Mantega assured that investments in the project are secure and that a fund will be created to guarantee returns to the private sector partners by future Administrations for the duration of the contracts, which in some cases run up to 30 years.

Mantega also informed that the Presidential Civilian Advisory Staff included in the PPP project a clause benefitting companies with greater social responsibility. He explained that in the case of a tie in contracts signed with the government, the winning firm will be, for example, the one with the greater capacity to generate employment or a good performance vis-à-vis the environment. (DAS)