President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced this Wednesday a round of public and private investments in urban infrastructure amounting to BRL 1.6 trillion (USD 280 billion) connected to a government plan to boost Brazilian industry.
A large portion of this impressive sum comes from the private sector, with industry and construction associations collectively reporting over BRL 1 trillion investments in housing, infrastructure, and sanitation projects until 2029.
Brazilian engineering company Weg has also launched a BRL 1.8 billion new investment cycle to produce electric batteries. The government aims to have nationally produced batteries accounting for 3 percent of electrical vehicles in the country by 2026 and 33 percent by 2033.
The Lula administration announced its plan to boost industry in January, along with new policy for the coming decade, with a focus on the renewal and modernization of Brazilian industry and sustainable projects.
It was criticized by some at the time for recycling old methods that had already been tried by the government. Brazilian industry’s accounts for 26 percent of the country’s GDP — that share has been cut by half in the past 40 years.
Adding to private investment, the government will make BRL 405 billion available in public funding until 2033, mostly from credit lines managed by the National Development Bank (BNDES), other state-owned banks and projects by the federal research funding agency Finep and the federal innovation company Embrapii.
This includes the BRL 300 billion announced back in January, as well as a further BRL 63 billion contribution by Brazil’s biggest state-owned bank, Caixa, which is responsible for the housing program Minha Casa Minha Vida. The new industry plan aims to increasingly equip houses built by the program with solar panels.
Finep has also signed subsidy and credit contracts totaling BRL 157 million for the development of new technologies. These include projects on sustainable aviation, autonomous electric trucks, and the development of a “flying boat” capable of flying over water and navigating rivers during droughts.
