WORLD BANK NEWS RELEASE: BRAZIL
July, 2004

WORLD BANK APPROVES US$36.0 MILLION FOR WATER
AND COASTAL POLLUTION MANAGEMENT IN BRAZIL

Washington, July 01, 2004 -

The World Bank today approved an additional loan of US$ 36 million to the state of Espírito Santo, in Southeastern Brazil, to carry out remaining activities under the Espírito Santo Water and Coastal Pollution Management Project.

The project supported by this loan will enable 1.6 million people to benefit from investments in improved water supply services and about 350,000 people to benefit from additional sewerage connections. It is also expected to produce a reduction in the incidence of water-borne diseases and to help clean up beaches used by local residents and tourists by restoring and protecting the environmentally deteriorated rivers and coastal areas within and adjacent to the Vitória Metropolitan Region.

" This loan supports Brazil's efforts to achieve better and more equitable access to water and sanitation services, which will in turn lead to significant health and welfare benefits, particularly for the poor" said Vinod Thomas, World Bank Brazil Country Director.
The loan will allow the State Government to:

(i) connect additional users to under-utilized trunk sewerage infra-structure and
treatment plants constructed during the last 3 ½ years;
(ii) construct additional sewerage systems in priority areas;
(iii) improve water quality, service continuity and service pressure of water supply
systems, particularly in the poorer neighborhoods of the Vitória Metropolitan Region; and
(iv) strengthen the state environmental agency (SEAMA) and the state water company
(CESAN) while developing the regulatory environment in which water and sanitation
service providers in the state operate.
This fixed-spread IBRD Loan will be repaid in 17 years including 5 years of grace.

For additional information on the Espírito Santo Water and Coastal Pollution Management Project, please visit:
http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main
For more information on the World Bank's work in Brazil, please visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/br
For more information about the Bank's work on Water Supply & Sanitation in Latin America & the Caribbean, please visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/lacwater

WORLD BANK APPROVES US$ 24.0 MILLION FOR MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT IN BRAZIL

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2004-

The World Bank today approved a US$24.0 million loan to the municipality of Betim, in the state of Minas Gerais. The loan will support the local government's efforts to address environmental
degradation associated to poverty and other critical urban problems.
Unregulated occupation of floodplains and steep slopes by poor households over the last three decades has kept Betim from extending its basic infrastructure city-wide, and from implementing comprehensive interventions to address water quality. Wastewater produced by the Betim River basin's 230,000 inhabitants is discharged untreated into the river and its tributaries, significantly
worsening public health, the urban environment, and the quality of life for Betim inhabitants, especially the poor, and for downstream populations.
Unregulated occupation has also increased silting of rivers and drainage systems and has reduced retention time in watersheds, causing increasingly serious floods.
The objective of the Betim Integrated Municipal Development Project is to assist the municipality of Betim in:
(a) promoting sustainable environmental development;
(b) reducing inequality, by increasing the access to urban services, such as water and
sewerage, and improving the effectiveness of social policies; and
(c) enhancing the city's quality of life through integrated investments in urban environment infrastructure and social services coupled with broader efforts to improve municipal governance, regulatory policy, and institutional strengthening.
" This project will address key elements of the Bank's assistance strategy for Brazil, such as increasing access to basic services associated with improvement of quality of life, environmental rehabilitation and protection through participatory mechanisms to develop institutional capacity." said Vinod Thomas,
World Bank Brazil Country Director.
This fixed-spread IBRD Loan will be repaid in 17 years including 5 years of grace.

For additional information on the Betim Integrated Municipal Development Project, please visit:
http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main
For more information on the World Bank's work in Brazil, please visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/br
For more information about the Bank's work on Water Supply & Sanitation in Latin America & the Caribbean, please visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/lacwater

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Regards,

Bertha Medina
202-473-4775