BNDES Approves $64.7M Loan For World Cup Stadium Construction

The Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BDNES) approved a R$131M ($64.7M) loan for construction work on the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil, according to PORTAL2014.org.br. The financing of the arena, which will host four World Cup matches in '14 is R$7M ($3.5M) "less than the amount the individuals responsible for the construction were hoping." The financing will take place over five allotments. The first one will be released 30 days after the contract is signed, "which should take place in the next couple of weeks." The loan approved by the bank represents 75% of the total estimated amount needed for the stadium reforms. The other 25% have come from the state government, the city hall and the club that uses the arena (Atletico-PR). Each entity provided R$15.4M ($7.6M) for the reforms. That total cost for the reforms is estimated at R$184.6M ($91.2M) (PORTAL2014.org.br, 8/10).