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Brazil and China discuss rail from Peruvian port into Brazil territory

Simone Tebet, Minister of Planning in Brazil, said that Brazil and China are in discussions to build a railroad connecting the Chinese-built Chancay mega port in Peru with Brazilian regions.

Tebet, a local journalist for Carta Capital, said in an interview that "they are very interested in supporting Brazil and crisscrossing Brazil with railways".

The Chinese President Xi Jinping was present at the inauguration of deepwater port, which took place in November.

Beijing's $1.3 billion Chancay Project is its largest investment in South America, and part of a push to expand trade across the continent.

Tebet's team said it met with a Chinese group, representing the state-owned railroad company of China, just over a week ago to discuss the possibility of a route connecting the port to Brazil. The discussion was based on the belief that Chancay is on the shortest way to China and would reduce the distance for maritime trade by at least 10,000 km (6,210 mi).

Tebet stated that the Chinese initially considered a route via the Amazon region. However, the Brazilian government rejected this idea because of the presence and the indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest.

After a thorough analysis, "they came to understand, and now the idea is to chart a Southern Route," she said. She noted that the railway will pass through the states Acre and Tocantins before reaching Bahia, where it will connect to the West-East Integration Railway.

The FIOL rail, which is still under construction, will extend approximately 1,527 km from Figueiropolis, Tocantins, to the Atlantic Port of Ilheus, Bahia.

Tebet said that while the project will take some time to come into fruition, it will be transformative in terms of economic development for Brazil's poorer regions.

She added, "You might be looking at five to eight years for a project of this nature to be completed." (Reporting and Editing by Margueritachoy)

(source: Reuters)