Brazil’s US$76 billion infrastructure investment

São Paulo is one of the cities in Brazil that could benefit from the infrastructure investment

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced infrastructure investment using federal funds of R$371 billion (US$76 billion) over four years as the recently elected leader of South America’s largest economy looks to create economic growth through state spending.

Officially called ‘the Growth Acceleration Programme’ and known as PAC, it was first introduced by Luna in 2007 during his earlier term in office.

According to a report in the Financial Times, money will be invested in construction, infrastructure projects and the ecological transition. Additional investment will come through the private sector and state-controlled enterprises, which could push the total figure to R$1.4 trillion (US$287 billion) by the end of his four-year term in 2026.

Lula, who assumed office in January 2023, said, “Today my government begins. So far what we have done is to repair what has gone wrong. The state will once again be an entrepreneurial state”.

PAC is said to draw inspiration from the massive stimulus package by US president Joe Biden promoting renewable power and re-industrialisation. However, critics pointed out that two previous large-scale investment initiatives launched under Lula’s party were plagued by waste and corruption.