STF may judge Ferrogão’s work in a national park area this week

The ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) may judge this Wednesday (31) the unconstitutionality of the law that changed the limits of a national park in Pará to allow the passage of Ferrogrão, the new railroad that will connect the municipalities of Sinop (MT) and Miritituba (PA). The project has been paralyzed since 2021, when Minister Alexandre de Moraes granted an injunction at the request of Psol to paralyze the progress of studies and contracting the work.

The railroad project has a 53-kilometer stretch that passes through the Jamanxim National Park in parallel with the BR-163, whose domain range was expanded by law in 2017 to accommodate the tracks. The legislation was contested by Psol and is the subject of discussions at the Ministry of the Environment.

Last Friday (26), the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) ruled in favor of Psol’s action, arguing that there are risks to the environment. “Due to new technical information provided by federal environmental agencies, [a AGU] modified its position expressed in previous stages of the process, manifesting itself now by the origin of the request made by Psol. The party seeks in the Court the declaration of unconstitutionality of the law that changed the limits of the Jamanxim National Park”, said the body in a note.

The AGU highlights in the document that it recognizes the importance of the railroad for the country, an undertaking that will make it possible to transport the production of various products from Mato Grosso to the Port of Mirituba (PA), and that Ferrogrão will generate new direct jobs in construction and reduce freight cost of freight transport. However, he states that he is not opposed to actions contesting the construction “as long as they observe all legal conditions, including socio-environmental ones”.

The discussion about the implementation of Ferrogrão takes place at a time when ministries such as the Environment and Indigenous Peoples undergo a change in attributions, and go through articulations between the government and Congress.

Ferrogrão was created through a provisional measure in 2016 during the government of Michel Temer (MDB) with 933 kilometers of extension at a cost of more than R$ 20 billion. If it gets off the ground, when completed, the railroad could reduce freight transport in the region by around 30%.