Brazil announces huge World Cup and Olympic investment

The Brazilian Government’s development minster, Miguel Jorge, has announced that a further US$100 billion will be invested into the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

The cash injection is part of a wider US$735 billion investment into the infrastructure and construction sectors over the next three years.

At a Brazil-Italy business seminar in Sao Paulo this week, Mr Jorge said that now was the best time to invest heavily in the country, whose economy is expected to grow by between 6 and 6.5 per cent this year.

Jorge said: “We have macroeconomic, political and institutional stability. Besides, we have quickly overcome the effects of the international financial crisis and have returned to a path of sustainable growth.”

The Government had announced earlier this year that it would spend US$890 billion on upgrading the country’s infrastructure ahead of the World Cup and Olympic Games.

However, despite this, the Morumbi stadium in Sao Paulo was dropped from hosting any matches at the 2014 World Cup last month after the city missed the deadline to provide guarantees to cover the cost of the venue’s renovation.