The Supreme Court is reviewing the validity of the law that redrew the park’s boundaries to make way for the Ferrogrão railway (EF-170). The project calls for a 976-kilometer line to transport grain from Mato Grosso to the port of Miritituba, on the Tapajós River in Pará.

The AGU, however, did not oppose Ferrogrão itself, provided the project complies with legal and socio-environmental requirements. Mr. Neto argued that the railway could lower logistics costs, reduce emissions, and create jobs.

He also pointed out that more recent studies suggest building the line along the BR-163 highway, outside the park’s limits, as an alternative that would allow the project to advance without directly affecting the conservation area.

Civil society groups that took part in the debate, however, questioned both the higher costs of this alternative and its potential social impacts.

The Ministry of Transportation incorporated this proposal into the case file in response to a suit filed in 2020 by the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL). The party challenged the change to the park’s boundaries, initially authorized by the provisional presidential decree 758/2016 and later converted into Law 13452/2017 under former President Michel Temer.

The Supreme Court began hearing the case on Thursday (2). The session included oral arguments from the parties involved. Chief Justice Edson Fachin announced that deliberations will resume next Wednesday (8).

Ferrogrão is part of the federal government’s new Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and is valued at R$20 billion, based on July 2023 figures. The railway’s initial annual operating cost is estimated at R$1.2 billion.

PSOL argues that, because the area involves environmental conservation lands and territories occupied by Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, changes could not have been enacted by a provisional decree. Instead, the party argues, it required a formal law passed with public participation and input from environmental agencies.

In 2021, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the case’s rapporteur, accepted PSOL’s arguments and suspended the law altering the park’s limits. He ruled that an injunction was appropriate before the merits could be analyzed, given the risk of irreversible effects. That decision halted feasibility and environmental studies then underway.

In 2023, Justice Moraes authorized the resumption of administrative processes and studies by the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) and the Ministry of Transportation. He also allowed the AGU to pursue a negotiated settlement among stakeholders, but the effort failed.

In a report, the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (CESAL) noted the lack of consensus within the federal government on the political and economic gains of the project. While the Environment Ministry, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, and FUNAI (National Indigenous People Foundation) raised concerns over socio-environmental impacts, the ANTT and the Ministry of Transportation took a more favorable view of the political benefits.

The ANTT is expected to complete its feasibility study by December and submit its findings to the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), a public spending watchdog. However, without a ruling from the Supreme Court, any execution remains contingent on judicial authorization, especially regarding socio-environmental conditions, Mr. Moraes said.