In Brasília, stadium goes well, but LRV is still just words on paper

Less than one year from the date of delivery, the old Mané Garrincha stadium has the lower bleachers completed and the intermediate bleachers in advanced stage of construction. Now named the National Brasilia Stadium (ENB), the arena has 45% of the reform performed.

However, you do not see the same speed when it comes to urban mobility. The Light Rail Vehicle (LRV), the capital's main project, had the bid canceled, and the new notice to bid, first planned for October, has not been disclosed yet.

Scheduled to receive seven matches of the 2014 World Cup, the Mane Garrincha stadium began to be reformed in May 2010 and its delivery is scheduled for December 31, 2012, also in time to host the Confederations Cup in 2013. The expectation of the Federal District Government (FDG) is that the whole part of concrete will be completed by the middle of the year. Currently, this phase is with 97% of execution.

After the lower bleachers is ready, the work in the middle bleachers will begin, which has 40% of the beams installed. The upper bleachers began to be pre-shaped to accelerate the work. After the reform, the stadium will have capacity for 70,000 fans. About three thousand workers are working in the construction site, taking turns in three shifts.

Bidding
Despite the good progress, items such as acoustic treatment, visual communication, urbanization, and landscaping, helipad, lawn and irrigation system of the field, screens, chairs and furniture have not been bidded yet and there are no plans for the bid release. The only item about to have a signed contract is the coverage.

In December last year, a public consultation on the bid of the stadium coverage was held, and Novacap (urbanizing company of the federal district), responsible for the event, expects that the notice to bid is released by the end of January. The estimated value is R$ 175 million, which should increase the cost of the work by 23%. Today, it is estimated that the reform costs R$ 671 million.

Payment
Until then, the money for the work has been coming from the district coffers. The government has the possibility to take loans from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), but so far it ruled out the alternative.

The sale of lands in the block 901 north, which would be used to finance the stadium reform and expand the hotel industry, remains suspended after the negative opinion  by the Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan). According to the agency, the project will damage the listed buildings of the federal capital.

In December last year, more than one institution spoke out against the expansion of the sector. The Brazilian Association of Hotel Industry (ABIH) submitted to the Public Prosecutor of Federal District a document that claims that it is not necessary to create more beds for incoming tourists.

According to the organization, Brasilia has 23,000 beds and over 13 undertakings under construction, which will add 6,746 new rooms. The association also estimates that there are vacant lots in Águas Claras and other satellite cities of Federal District where hotels can be built.

"The World Cup has been used as a gimmick to enable real estate and government business, whether to try to justify the creation of areas not covered by the urban plan of the city or to influence investors in buying small apartments, presented as hotel rooms, with promises of high returns," says the entity document.

LRV is still stopped
Another difficulty that the government is facing is with the Light Rail Vehicle (LRV), the main urban mobility work listed for the World Cup. The work has been paralyzed for over a year on suspicion of fraud in the bidding.

After the manipulation of the competition had been confirmed, the bid was canceled by the Court of Justice of Federal District in early December last year. The consortium of companies Dalcon and Altram/TCBR filed notice of appeal, but has lost.

Even before the bid cancellation, the government had anticipated, terminated the contract and announced that would release a new notice to bid. It is expected that the competition will be released in October, but so far nothing has been disclosed. Between December 20 and 30, a public consultation on the notice to bid was opened.

The Metropolitan Company of Federal District, responsible for the LRV project, said the notice to bid should be announced before the end of January. In the consultation there was no value, since the new event will fit in the Differentiated Regime for Public Contracting (RDC), which prevents the disclosure of costs.

The other mobility work provided for the World Cup is the duplication of the track that connects the airport at the end of the South Wing, the DF-047. However, the project is still just words on paper, since it depends on the LRV works.