Brasília, 4/27/2004 (Agência Brasil) - An investment program totalling US$8 billion over the next three years that will be used to increase the country's steel production from the present 34 million tons annually to 50 million tons has been announced by presidential Chief of Staff, Jose Dirceu.

The 2004 budget earmarked US$4.1 billion for the sector, which will be supplemented by funds from the Brazilian Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social) (BNDES), Federal Mortgage and Loan Bank (Caixa Econômica Federal) and the Banco do Brasil. According to Dirceu, the effort adds up to an important stage in renewed investments by the government across a wide spectrum of the economy (he pointed out that there would also be investments in infrastructure in small businesses that export).

Dirceu declared that with the investments, along with interest rates at their lowest level in 12 years and a further downward tendency for interest rates, there was no reason not to be optimistic about the Brazilian economy in general and, specifically, growth in 2004.

Translator: Allen Bennett