The Guanabara Bay cleanup program

The Environmental Sanitation Program for the Guanabara Bay Area (PSAM) will be one of the state government’s biggest environmental programs, relying on around R$1.1 billion in investments.


Brazil's iconic but heavily polluted Guanabara Bay, around which Rio de Janeiro was built, photo by Brian Snelson/Flickr Creative Commons License.

Of this, R$800 million will come from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and R$330 million from the Rio state government.

When the IDB deal was signed in Montevideo, Uruguay, on March 20th; Luis Alberto Moreno, the bank’s President, said, “This program is emblematic for its magnitude, which will bring improved living conditions for a large part of the state’s population.”

According to the IDB, the Guanabara Bay region is home to more than ten million people. Fifteen municipalities stand to benefit from the plans, among them the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói.

The IDB estimates that its financial contribution will allow more than 359,000 households to gain access to the official sewerage network, directly benefiting more than 1.68 million people.

Sources:
The Rio Times