Zipline work on Sugar Loaf is suspended in Rio – 02/06/2023 – Daily life

The Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro determined this Thursday (1st) the suspension of works to install a zip line on the Sugarloaf Mountain, in the south zone of the city. The plan of the company that manages the site was to fix steel cables connecting the hills of Urca and Pão de Açúcar, 755 meters apart, and 396 meters from sea level.

In a note, Parque Bondinho Pão de Açúcar, the company that manages the site, says it did not have access to the decision and that it “followed all the technical requirements requested”.

As a result of a public civil action filed by the Attorney General’s Office in Rio, the (temporary) injunction, signed by Judge Paulo André Espirito Santo Bonfadini, of the 20th Federal Court, suspends the effects of administrative acts by IPHAN (Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage Nacional), which initially authorized the execution of the work. The decision provides for a daily fine penalty if the works continue.

The federal judge states in the process that the “search for increased tourism” cannot jeopardize “a world heritage site and a symbol of tourism that represents Brazil’s image abroad”.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, between September 2022 and February 2023, the company mutilated the rock on the hill with the aim of installing the zip line before presenting the executive project containing the plan that provided for the drilling.

The company itself told prosecutors that it had already cut 78.13 m³ from Morro da Urca and 49.70 m³ from Morro do Pão de Açúcar. In all, there were 127.83 m³ of drilling.

In January, an IPHAN technical employee noticed the perforation. However, a month later, the same public servant recommended that the project be approved. In April, an inspection by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, together with the superintendent of Iphan, observed a new mutilation of the rock on the hill and filed a lawsuit preventing the continuity of the project.

In a note, the company says it was not cited and that, “as soon as it has access, it will analyze the content of the action and/or decision, and will manifest itself in order to reiterate the absolute legality of the zip line works”. He also stated that he “followed all the technical requirements requested by the bodies”.

The company’s idea is to build four steel conductors next to the cables that support the cable car. The cable ride would last 50 seconds, and the equipment would reach a speed of 100 km/h.

The Urca and Sugar Loaf hills belong to the Union, listed by Iphan and recognized as world heritage by Unesco. The decision to embargo the works argues that, as it is heritage, its structural modification may affect the characterization of the monument as it is currently recognized. The recognition was granted in 2012, on the centenary of the inauguration of the cable car.

Mountaineers and visitors to the Sugar Loaf created a petition in February against the installation of the zip line. The virtual list has just over 23,000 signatures.