Belem, Brazil (Reuters): The state heads will begin to arrive at the Amazon city of Belem in a month for the United Nations Climate Summit, but the infrastructure destined to receive them remains unfinished.
Together with what has been called the “Village of Leaders”, a series of several low buildings that will house many of the visiting presidents, another three -story building is far from completing.
Its shiny white and glass facade, crowned with a helipad, gives the complex established to organize the climatic conversations of 197 nations known as COP30. On the back, looking away from the road but that is coming over the presidential housing, the building is a raw concrete and brick shell exposed.
The State Government said it does not consider that the terminal half structure is part of the village of leaders or the largest public works for COP30, although the helipad at the top “will be made available to the demands of the conference.”
Even so, the bustling construction site captures the frantic and unfinished quality that this tropical city of 1.3 million has seized in the last month of preparations.
The State Government said that the more than 30 public works are preparing for COP30 with investments of 4,500 million reais ($ 845 million) are on time, including roads, parks, drainage channels and restored tourist destinations.
The sound of renovations echoes through the International Airport and the hotels in the city, a half dozen of which they are being built for the conference.
The work is still undergoing a dock for large cruises with thousands of literas to visit delegations. Another terminal designed to receive “floating hotels” was destined to open in July, but it had only finished 79% last month.
The delegations are becoming creative about the accommodation because a shortage of hotel beds has sent prices beyond the levels seen in previous conferences, stealing tensions between diplomats, UN organizers and the Brazilian government.
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, minimized those concerns during a visit to Belem last week.
“I will want to sleep in a boat,” he joked in a local television interview. “We still don’t have the boat, but I will find one.”
($ 1 = 5.32 Reais)
(Brad Haynes report in Belem and Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Aurora Ellis edition)
(Tagstotranslate) Heads of State (T) Climate Talks (T) Belem