Brasília, January 9, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Ministry of Cities intends to invest R$ 12.14 billion in the areas of housing and sanitation this year. The expectation of Minister Olívio Dutra is to create 1.4 million jobs in the two sectors in 2004.

For housing, R$ 7.4 billion will be applied in resources provided by the General Federal Budget (OGU), the Workers' Compensation Fund (FGTS), the Fund for Residential Leasing (FAR), and the Federal Savings Bank.

For sanitation, R$ 4.696 billion will be invested in resources from the budget, the FGTS, and the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES). The outlook is for 760,837 jobs to be generated in the sector.

Minster Dutra believes that the amount of investments can be expanded, through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and new programs created by legislators.

In the case of sanitation, there will also be the application of financial resources contracted at the end of 2003 by state governments and water and sewage companies. These resources amount to R$ 1.7 billion, and they are expected to serve 1.9 million families and create 276 thousand jobs. "We are working with more concrete data, but we can generate still more jobs," Dutra affirmed.

According to the Minister, the new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the end of last year was an advance, because it permitted the public sector to raise its debt ceiling for transportation, sanitation, and housing from R$ 200 million to R$ 2.9 billion for sanitation and by R$ 200 million for other sectors and municipalities.

Through the first fortnight of November, 2003, investments on housing totalled R$ 4.2 billion. Investments on sanitation amounted to R$ 561 million last year. (DAS)