US$15 million to improve quality of life in Ananindeua municipality

(Caracas, April 26, 2007).- The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) approved a US$15-million loan in favor of Ananindeua municipality in the Belem metropolitan area in the northern Brazilian state of Para. The loan, which has a ten-year term and four years of grace, is guaranteed by the Brazilian state. The funds approved will partially finance the municipal Urban, Social and Environmental Development Program whose aim is to improve the quality of life of 3,000 families directly, and 30% of the population indirectly.

As CAF president & CEO Enrique García explained, "a priority for the Corporation is supporting projects that address essential basic needs in a sector of the population with high levels of poverty and exclusion."

The purpose of the Urban, Social and Environmental Development Program is to improve the quality of life of one third of the population of Ananindeua through optimization and improvement of sanitary and health conditions, rehabilitating urban infrastructure which involves improving the road and transport system.

The total cost of the program is US$25 million, of which the CAF financing covers 60%. The remaining 18% will come from the municipality's own resources, and 22% from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).

The program has four components: urban development and infrastructure; resettlement and habitat improvement; institutional strengthening and engineering; and administration and supervision. The first component consists of improving the condition of urban infrastructure and basic social services by building and rehabilitating 11.35-km of roads for interconnection of marginal areas; channeling and environmental recovery with construction of 2.7 km of drainage channels; improvement of the potable water service, sewerage and solid waste collection; and construction and equipping of two new health centers and two schools with childcare centers.

The second component facilitates resettlement and access to housing for 350 marginal families currently living in precarious conditions: 200 families in the Jaderlândia and 150 in the Maguariaçú sectors. The third component relates to improving the management capacity of the municipality - especially the Department of Sanitation, Environment and Infrastructure - to facilitate efficient execution of the program. The last component consists of setting up a unit responsible for the administrative and engineering part of the program.