Almost half of Brazilian cities have construction works stopped; lack of planning is among the main causes

Most of the works stopped in the municipalities are in the area of ​​education, with 49% of the total, followed by housing works, with 40%. Economist Newton Marques points out that, from the moment the work begins, public money is already committed to it — and non-continuity represents disadvantages for the population.

“The stoppage of public works, no matter what the sector, obviously brings losses, because from the moment the work begins, resources have already been committed and it has to be finished, because it has an objective. The population will feel harmed because, from the moment that a school, a hospital, or even a bridge, a road is not concluded, this is harmful to the population”, he pointed out.

The main works stopped are the construction of schools and day care centers; housing projects; asphalt paving; construction of side roads; construction of borders; sewage works; water; domestic sanitary improvements and rural sanitation, in addition to works in schools and day care centers, Basic Health Units and Emergency Care Units.

Reasons for stopped works

Public budget specialist Cesar Lima points out that stalled public works are an old problem for Brazilian public administration, and analyzes what motivates this. “Several studies, mainly by the TCU, indicate that the main cause of work stoppages is the lack of planning, wrong planning for works that are sometimes oversized or even underestimated. Plan in a way, halfway through the mayor decides to change that destination, or the mayor who leaves leaves the work for the next manager to finish — and this one does not end up thinking that the other mayor will take the glory”, explains Lima.

In addition to what was pointed out by the specialist, the study by the National Confederation of Municipalities also lists other factors for the abandonment of works before completion. They are: lack of declaration of regularity by the federal agency; absence of measurement for more than 90 days of the work; contract termination with contractors; failure to obtain licenses; judicial actions; delay in the release of funds by the Union, withdrawal of suppliers, among others.

Lawyer Ricardo Medina Salla, specialist in dispute resolution in the infrastructure sector and partner at Tolledo Marchetti Advogados, also cited as the reason for the stoppage the delay in resolving disputes throughout the construction process. “The works are paralyzed because the parties — public administration and the private contractor — take a long time to resolve their pending issues, which arise during the execution of the work, and it is natural that pending issues arise during the execution of the work, and when they cease to be cleaned quickly. This is where the imbroglio grows”, he points out.

Responsibility

Lawyer Thiago Castro, a specialist in public law and constitutional law, explains that there is a lack of legislation regarding the responsibility of public managers for stopped works. “One of the biggest challenges and biggest implications that may have as a result of unfinished works is the lack of responsibility on the part of government officials, in these cases specifically, because there is no specific legislation that discusses the manager’s responsibility as a result of unfinished works,” he said.

Castro also contextualizes that the main loser in these cases is the population. “Above all, we have here the non-effective performance of the public good, of providing the service to the community. These are impacts, sometimes incalculable, when the works are not completed, and it is an expense of public money that generates damage to the treasury”, he concludes.

regional differences

Most of the stopped works are in the Northeast and North regions. The state with the highest number is Maranhão, with 726 in all, most of them in education, 474. The ranking of states with the most stopped works completes Bahia, with 611; and Pará, with 531. On the other hand, units with the lowest number of stopped works, excluding the Federal District, are Roraima, with 41, and Acre and Mato Grosso do Sul, with 44 each. Check the amount by region of the country:

• Northeast – 2,805
• Norte – 1.228
• Southeast – 617
• Sul – 397
• Midwest – 333

Among the cities that have stopped works, 56% of them have a single paralyzed work. On the other hand, 46 municipalities register 10 or more works stopped, corresponding to 11.5% of the total of municipal works, between 2012 and 2022, with 610 works stopped.