The construction of a zip line between the Sugar Loaf and Urca hills, in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro, has been surrounded by controversy regarding the project. The National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan) informed this Tuesday (18), in a note, that, upon receiving requests from various civil society entities related to interventions in the hills for the construction of the zip line, it initiated an administrative process to analyze the situation. A new technical opinion delivered on the 14th of this month by the Geo-Rio Foundation to Iphan “does not show any rupture in the massif where the zip line is being built”. The project foresees four zip line lines, with three stations, in a descent of 755 meters in length, with a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour (km/h). The duration of the descent will be almost 50 seconds. On average, 100 people can use the zip line per hour. Stoppage In a decision of the 1st of June last, the Federal Court determined the stoppage of works at the top of the top of the hills. The decision – on a preliminary basis – complied with the request of the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) in Rio de Janeiro. According to the MPF, the drilling removed almost 130 cubic meters of rocks from the Sugar Loaf and Urca hills, between September 15, 2022 and January 17, 2023. The volume is equivalent to an average pool of geological material. The withdrawal would have occurred without authorization and knowledge from Iphan, before the executive project was presented to the institute. However, the MPF states that Iphan authorized the continuity of the work, becoming “co-responsible for the damage caused to the landscape and geological heritage”. TRF maintains suspension On July 3, the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region (TRF2) maintained the suspension of the authorization for the installation of a zip line at the Pão de Açúcar tourist complex. The decision, by the judge Luiz Paulo Silva Araújo Filho, maintains the injunction of the first instance of the Federal Court, which paralyzed the works of the enterprise. In the decision, the magistrate wrote that the authorization for the zip-line works had been given by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan). The judge also established a daily fine for the company Caminho Aéreo do Pão de Açúcar if the court order is not complied with. According to the judge, who is the rapporteur of the process at TRF2, the works have been causing rock dismantling on the Pão de Açúcar and Urca hills, which are part of the complex listed by the Union. The process will still be judged by the Seventh Specialized Panel of TRF2. In the note, IPHAN considered, when evaluating the zip-line project, among other factors, the authorization issued by the Geo-Rio Foundation, the competent body for assessing the geological impacts and which, at the time, concluded that the project was viable. In a technical inspection recently carried out at the site, the foundation reinforced the understanding that the project does not pose risks to the listed property, considering that there is no possibility of ruptures in the massif in the region where the interventions will be carried out and, therefore, there is no compromise to the hill, as detailed in Geo-Rio’s technical opinion. Breakout outbreak The new document – sent on the 14th of this month to Iphan – “does not show the possibility of breakout outbreaks in the massif in the region covered by the services provided for in the licensing of dismantling. It should also be noted that the licensing of the Geo-Rio Foundation – in support of building licensing – aims to confirm that the interventions adopt technical parameters and concepts adequate to the real conditions of the land where they will be implemented, mitigating risks of accidents of a geotechnical nature”. The document is signed by Sidney Crisafulli Machado, Director of Licensing and Inspection at Geo-Rio. IPHAN concludes, in the note, that it has the role of analyzing the impacts on the cultural landscape and that, therefore, it needs to consider possible risks to the hills. “However, the opinion on the geological impacts is not given by the institute, but by Geo-Rio, which has the competence to do so. Considering the assessments of the competent body, Iphan subsidizes its assessment of the possible damage to the listed property as a whole”, he concludes.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©