Italians interested in Brasilia-Goiania train project

Italy's ambassador to Brazil, Pietro Lunardi, met with Federal District (DF) governor Joaquim Roriz and Goias' Marconi Perillo last week to express his country's interest in a high-speed train project that would connect capital Brasilia with Goias capital Goiania (200km). The meeting included representatives of Italian engineering companies and banks, among them Impregilo, Fiat Engenharia, ETR-45 and Asseguracion Generali, the DF government reported. "We have technology and financial capital, but need to know more. We are certain the project will give us returns. For this, a more detailed assessment is needed," Impreglio representative Massimo Guala was quoted as saying. Last month, Roriz and Perillo submitted a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seeking support for the project, which has also sparked the interest of Alstom, Siemens and Dragados. The governors have said they would allocate an initial 1bn reais (US$343mn) towards the estimated US$800mn project in the next three years, of which the DF will put up 700mn reais. The rest of the funds would come from the private sector and Brazil's national development bank BNDES, among others.