CAF and Caucaia sign USD 80-million agreement to modernize infrastructure and promote economic growth

CAF-development bank of Latin America- and the municipality of Caucaia (Ceará) signed a loan agreement for USD 80 million, for the Caucaia Integrated Infrastructure Program, which aims to promote growth in the city by improving local mobility and re-zoning of urban areas. 

“Such programs combine public infrastructure projects, improve mobility, training, safety and urban re-zoning, and promote a complementary relationship between actions that have proven to be valuable tools for local economic expansion, which promote job creation and increase competitiveness,” said Jaime Holguín, CAF representative in Brazil.

“These projects are essential for the development of Caucaia. We are going to use them to solve traditional problems in the city, especially those related to urban mobility. These are structural projects that we could not do without the support of CAF, or they would have taken a very long time. The needs of the municipality, of the people, are urgent. This will set a milestone for Caucaia, because all the neighborhoods will benefit,” said Naumi Amorim, Mayor of Caucaia.

The loan aims to expand the municipal road system through the construction and renovation of approximately 105 miles (170 km) of urban roads, which will optimize the delivery of services for the local economy. The program also includes the construction of an overpass over BR 222 and a bridge in the area of São Miguel, as well as an overpass crossing over the railway and the establishment of a video monitoring system of the road network.

In addition, the funding will help reintegrate at least 5 squares, 3 lagoons and a social center of events back into the city, and create 10 “ecopoints” for handling recyclable material. It also includes other actions, such as the preparation of an urban mobility plan and socio-environmental initiatives, including studies on the vulnerability index, water and carbon footprint, hydrodynamics for lagoons, and tree planting and public lighting plans.