Lula announces R $ 1.4 billion for transnordestine railway works

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced the increase of another R $ 1.4 billion for the transnordestine railway. In a ceremony on Friday, 18, the petista said he wants to complete the work until the end of his third term, even if it means spending more “time and money.”

“There will be no shortage of money to complete transnordestine. Now, I have to be communicated from the difficulty of money before it is missing. I need to be communicated before, because I want to inaugurate this work until the end of my mandate, if not 100%, 99%,” Lula said in a speech in the city of Mission Velha (CE).

According to the Secretariat of Social Communication (Secom), the new resources will come from R $ 600 million from the Northeast Development Fund (FDNE) and R $ 816 million from the Northeast Investment Fund (FINOR).

In all, R $ 8.2 billion have already been invested, and the total budget of the work is R $ 15 billion.

Planalto estimates an annual impact on semiarid GDP of up to $ 7 billion. More than 4,000 direct jobs were generated and the signed contract amount exceeds R $ 4 billion.

Lula also said he wanted to be completed as planned in the original project, linking the ports of Pecém and Suape, as well as Eliseu Martins, in Piauí.