Brasília, 12/5/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - "The Amazon Surveillance System (Sivam) will move ahead because the government considers it fundamental for the region and the country," says Celia Correa, the director of Special Projects at the Ministry of Planning, in testimony at the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Commission at the Chamber of Deputies.

Correa was answering questions concerning the Sivam budget. She explained that out of a total of US$1.4 billion scheduled to be invested, US$1.3 billion had already been used. "It is not at this point, with only US$100 million left to invest, that we will interrupt the project," she declared. But she did admit that the government's 2004 budget allocated only R$9.5 million for the project, adding that as in the past, supplementary funding would certainly be forthcoming.

General Ramon Broges Cardoso, who heads the Sivam organizing commission, reported that 92% of the project is now in place and that the rest should be completed in 2005, in line with the project timetable. "We need more than the R$9 million in the budget and I am sure we will get it," he said.

Antonio Carlos Ayrosa, from the Ministry of Defense, declared that the government is clearly interested in completing the project. "Sivam is not only important for the surveillance of the Amazon region, but also for the development of Brazil," he said. (AB)