The governors of three states in Brazil – Mato Grosso, Acre and Rondónia – this week signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a railway that will link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Brazilian press reported.

The signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding on Monday in Ji-Paraná, Rondónia, was attended by the Chinese ambassador in Brazil, Li Jinzhang and a group of 23 Chinese entrepreneurs who are making an expedition through the cities that will benefit from the construction of the so-called Transoceanic Railroad.

This protocol is the result of a strategic partnership and the 35 agreements signed by President Dilma Rousseff and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on 19 May, 2015, one of which includes the feasibility study for construction of the Transoceanic Railroad. The project, which will start in Rio de Janeiro, go through Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Rondonia, Acre and end in Peru.

Experts cited by the Brazilian press said that investments in the railway could amount to US$10 billion and the biggest beneficiaries will be the farmers of Mato Grosso, who will have a shorter route to transport their crops, mainly soy.

In 2014 China imported products worth US$4.9 billion from Mato Grosso, of which US$4.6 billion in soy products – beans, meal and oil.

The “Transoceanic Railroad” will be 5,300 kilometres long, 4,400 kilometres of which in Brazil, will take six years to build and its current stakeholders include China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE), a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation. (macauhub/BR/CN)