The next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 give Brazil a golden opportunity to fast-track its infrastructure projects, the country’s deputy sports minister said Monday. Luis Fernandes said the Games would galvanise projects already in place across South America’s largest country as well as in Rio, a city of 6.5 million people which is notorious for its traffic jams. The plans in Rio include the extension of a metro line to the western Barra da Tijuca district and four express lanes for buses and cars are also under construction.
“The Olympics are an opportunity to invest a huge quantity of funds in infrastructure, an amount that would normally take 15 or 20 years to invest,” Fernandes told a press conference in London, the day after the 2012 Games ended.
“The Olympics give us an opportunity to concentrate resources to build this infrastructure a bit sooner.”
