Brazil Invites Tenders for Sao Francisco River Basin Diversion ProjectAfter years of negotiation and debate, Brazil invites tenders for construction and on-site supervision of the BRL4.5 billion Sao Francisco river basin diversion project. The project plans to create a new channel for the 2,575 km Sao Francisco river to irrigate much of the country's northeast Sertao region, an area known for its dry, arid climate. The project is meant to benefit some 12 million poor people in the states of Pernambuco, Ceara, Paraiba and Rio Grande do Norte.However, environmentalists say that changing the river's course, Brazil's fourth-largest, would speed the river's flow toward the ocean, could dry up the river for part of the year and cause widespread environmental damage. Ibama, Brazil's environmental agency, signed a license authorizing the project on 23rd March. Congress must now approve funding for the project.The Sao Francisco river basin diversion project, first proposed in 1886, is to provide water via two main canals, which will be fed from various networks of rivers and reservoirs to the four northeastern Brazilian states. The project includes a north axis and an east axis, representing a conveyance system of 722 km, whereof 591 km of canals, 20 km of pipelines, 51.6 km of tunnels (15 tunnels), and 26 reservoirs. Click br/21. Visit www.mi.gov.br/saofrancisco 14/07.