Photo by Ricardo Giusti/PMPA.

In early September, municipal government officials, transport entrepreneurs, Metroplan representatives, and CTS-Brasil will travel to Caracas, Venezuela to expedite the signing of a financing contract with the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) to begin work on Porto Alegre's "Portais da Cidade" bus rapid transit project.

"The purpose of the trip is to intensify the relationship with CAF so that we can sign the funding agreement by the end of the year and start implementing the project in the first half of 2010," said Secretary of Strategic Management and Monitoring, Clovis Magalhaes. The meeting was held in Porto Alegre's City Hall on August 21.

CAF is expected to help finance $100 million of the total $210 million total estimated costs of the BRT project.