Cecília Jorge
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - Yesterday (23), the Ministry of Cities released a diagnosis of water and sewer services in Brazil. According to the survey, 95.3% of urban residences have running water. The situation is quite different when it comes to sewage collection and treatment. Only half the houses have sewage collection and in only 28.2% of the cases does the sewage pass through treatment.

In an attempt to reverse this situation, the Minister of Cities, Olívio Dutra, said that in the last two years the federal government has spent over US$ 2.3 billion (R$ 6 billion), 14 times the amount disbursed in the previous ten-year period. "To complete the task of sanitation in the country, we will need to invest US$ 68.9 billion (R$ 178 billion) over the next 20 years," Dutra affirmed.

Dutra said that this investment can also be made by private enterprise through the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP's). In 2005 the Ministry of Cities is expected to allocate another US$ 2.3 billion (R$ 6 billion) to the area of sanitation.

Translation: David Silberstein