This Wednesday (5th), Governor Jerônimo Rodrigues left the capital of China, Beijing, and went to the city of Xian for another meeting regarding the Salvador-Itaparica Bridge. This time, the meeting was with CR20, a shareholder that owns 50% of the concessionaire. The meeting was attended by the President of CR20, Lei Weibing, and other executives of the company. They discussed the schedule and the importance of the project for the economic and social development of Bahia.

The Governor stressed the importance of the Salvador-Itaparica Bridge for bilateral relations between Brazil and China. He said that the project should be part of the agenda of President Lula’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April. Credit operations guaranteed by Banco do Nordeste, BNDES and Eximbank China were also discussed during the meeting.

The Government of Bahia and the shareholders also discussed ways to overcome the challenges of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which contributed to the increase in raw material prices and, in the end, caused an economic-financial imbalance in the project.

Besides the Governor, the secretaries accompanying him on his trip, Ângelo Almeida, of the Department of Economic Development, and André Joazeiro, of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Superintendent of Business Attraction, Paulo Guimarães, attended the meeting. From Brazil, the meeting was attended online by the Secretary of Infrastructure, Sérgio Brito, Chief of Staff, Afonso Florence, the Secretary of Finance, Manoel Vitório, and the President of the Salvador-Itaparica Bridge Concessionaire, Cláudio Villas Boas.

Last Tuesday (4th), the governor had a meeting in Beijing with CCCC, the other 50% shareholder of the concessionaire, during which he discussed technical and financial aspects of the project.

The Salvador-Itaparica Bridge Highway System will be a new vector of income distribution and will boost the economy of the entire State of Bahia, generating seven thousand jobs. In about 250 municipalities, 10 million inhabitants will benefit from the project. At 12.4 km, it will be the longest bridge in Latin America, and at the peak of the project it will create about seven thousand jobs. More than 50 programs will be implemented in the areas of environment, socio-cultural issues, land use and occupation, housing, urban infrastructure and education.

As reported by the Government of Bahia, Department of Communication.