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The World Bank is supporting Fortaleza, Brazil's fourth-largest city, in strengthening its public finances, improving urban services and building resilience against extreme weather events. The effort aims to create better conditions for investment, job creation, and economic opportunities for the city's more than 2.4 million residents.
To that end, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), part of the World Bank, is providing a $177 million loan to the Municipality of Fortaleza.
The operation supports reforms on two fronts. On sustainable urban development, the program advances a new master plan promoting well-connected urban development centered around public transport a Climate Risk Observatory and Municipal Climate Change Policy; expanded social housing provision; and a major urban greening drive.
By January 2028, the project aims to expand landscapes under conservation or sustainable management from 7,628 to more than 10,586 hectares, plant 250,000 trees in urban heat hotspots, reserve 237 hectares for social housing, improve 1,500 housing units, and deliver 3,000 land titles, with at least 60 percent going to women.
"This project helps the city turn that ambition into concrete results — more revenues invested in public services, greener and more livable neighborhoods, and better opportunities for all residents, especially those who have been left behind," said Cécile Fruman, World Bank Country Director for Brazil.
On fiscal sustainability, the operation focuses on bringing property tax records and valuations up to date, restructuring of the street lighting and security fee to crowd in private capital, and automatic expenditure controls to preserve resources for public investment. Together, these measures are expected to attract at least R$40 million in private investment for street lighting and traffic infrastructure, and lift the city's current savings ratio from 2.45 percent to 5 percent, freeing up resources to sustain and improve public services.
Stronger fiscal management also enables Fortaleza to restructure existing debt, generating US$26 million in present value savings that can be redirected to public investment.
"Fortaleza has the assets and the ambition to become a model for sustainable urban development in Brazil's Northeast," said Cécile Fruman, World Bank Country Director for Brazil. "This project helps the city turn that ambition into concrete results; more revenues invested in public services, greener and more livable neighborhoods, and better opportunities for all residents, especially those who have been left behind."
