Six parks in Rio will be managed by private companies, but entrances will continue to be free | Rio de Janeiro

Rio City Hall will grant parks for private initiatives

Rio City Hall will grant concessions for six public parks to private companies. The intention is that the winning company will be responsible for cleaning, security and maintenance of the spaces, reducing the cost of maintaining these living spaces for public coffers.

Entrance to the parks for visitors will continue to be free. According to Eduardo Cavaliere, municipal secretary of the Civil House, the profile of the parks must be maintained. This means that if there is a green area explored by the population or if the space hosts sports, music and leisure activities, this all has to be preserved by companies.

“If there is a premise in this process, it is that the parks will remain free, remain public, open to the population. So, for those who frequent Parque Madureira or any other park in the city, know that life continues as normal.”, assures the secretary.

Check out the parks that are included in the concession:

• Madureira Park (Madureira, in the North Zone)
• Girl from Ipanema Park (Arpoador, in the South Zone)
• Dois Irmãos Park (Leblon, in the South Zone)
• Pinto Teles Park (Vila Valqueire, in the West Zone)
• City Park (Gávea, in the South Zone)
• Orlando Leite Park (Cascadura, in the North Zone)

A public consultation will be held this Wednesday (24), so that the population can participate by making suggestions on how the bidding should take place.

The rules for private companies will also be published this Wednesday by the city hall, in the draft notice, which will be open for public consultation by Companhia Carioca de Parcerias e Investimentos.

“We aim to look for partners, concessionaires, so that they can manage some of these areas — such as restaurants or areas where they can hold shows — and make maintenance and more security possible. It is important that we have a way to make conditions viable for these parks that already exist while we expand this infrastructure for the population, especially in the areas that need it most.”, details Eduardo Cavaliere.

According to Uerj Tourism professor Vitor de Pieri, there are important precautions during the concession process that must be taken with caution.

“It is necessary for the company, the concessionaire, to invest in the park as a whole, including in underutilized areas. Environmental management, maintenance, preservation of material heritage must also be considered and these are topics that require high investment. Therefore, it is very important that the concession must be constantly monitored by the public authorities and, if possible, the participation of family businesses and individual micro-entrepreneurs, of cooperatives in the provision of services necessary for the day-to-day running of the equipment.”