Construction work on highways and railways expected for coming years will have a positive impact on the agility of land transportation. Dom Cabral Foundation (FDC) researchers rely on a 9,8% decline on the average distance of transportation in 2025. Instead of covering 861 kilometers to deliver cargo, trucks and trains will travel 776 kilometers to their destination. The estimate, published in the study Projections for Transportation Logistics Infrastructure in Brazil, also cosiderates a 20% growth in cargo volume (measured in tons per useful kilometer) between 2015 and 2025.

Transnordestina Railway, expected to connect Eliseu Martins (PI) to Pecém (CE) and Suape (CE) harbors, will have major positive impact on the optimization of driver’s time. The 1,7 thousand kilometer highway will help the northeast region to connect with other states in Brazil, promoting export trade as well.

A work in progress, the Norte-Sul Railway stretch between Tocantins and São Paulo is another important player for cargo transportation. A 1,5 thousand kilometer route, the line will boost brazilian cerrado’s economy by facilitating the agricultural products flow. The FDC survey also highlights Ferrogrão, located between Mato Grosso and Pará, and the stretch of Ferrovia de Integração Oeste-Leste (FIOL) located in Bahia.

When it comes to highways, high impact projects are concentrated in the central and north regions of the country. BRs 163 (Mato Grosso and Pará), 230 (also in Pará) and 235 (Bahia) will be paved. The enlargement of BR-101, covering Alagoas, Bahia and Santa Catarina, is expected as well.

However, there’s still a lot to be done. In addition to finishing the expected projects, Brazil needs to plan new infrastructure interventions. If there are no new projects implemented after 2025, the cargo transportation sector will suffer again. “Discussing if the country needs investments is not the case anymore. Now we need to prioritize projects that will reduce, in a speedy manner, the negative difference between the transportation systems in macroregions”, says Professor Paulo Resende, one of the study’s coordinators.