Adequate infrastructure is fundamental to a country’s economic success. Brazil has lagged behind much of the rest of the world in terms of both quality and quantity of infrastructure. This results in complicated logistics for companies and poor mobility for citizens. It increases costs of production and reduces growth and productivity. However, there are opportunities for improvement.

At least three bills are currently being discussed in the National Congress, which, once approved, would aim to establish a legal and regulatory climate capable of attracting strategic investment for the design and execution of new infrastructure ventures in the country.

In this document, researchers with the Climate Policy Initiative/Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyze the opportunity for a comprehensive discussion that would ensure better infrastructure and environmental conservation in Brazil, using the proposed legislation as a starting point. This could benefit the productive sector and society as a whole.

One of the biggest gains that would come from a systemic vision between the three proposals, in light of the guidelines of the Investment Partnership Program (PPI – from the Portuguese term Programa de Parceiras de Investimentos), is the potential to more precisely visualize the challenges faced throughout the life cycle of an infrastructure project. In particular, the phase of the technical, economic and environmental feasibility study could be strengthened, advancing the discussion of questions that are currently only addressed during environmental licensing. This would foster the bidding of more robust, higher-quality projects, promote the security of investments, and ensure socio-environmental protection.