Brazil's federal government has approved a one-billion-U.S.-dollar program to improve infrastructure in Rio de Janeiro, Rio's state government said on Friday.

The government has allocated about 933 million reals (483 million U.S. dollars) for a major project aimed at urbanizing "favelas," slums that surround city centers in the state.

Another project within the program is flood-preventing construction in the state's capital city, as the Iguacu River frequently overflows.

The investment will also be used to construct sewage systems in the urban regions as well as in "favelas" in the city of Rio de Janeiro, while sanitary facilities will also be improved in over 60 municipalities across the state, the government said in a statement.

Rio's Vice Governor Luiz Fernando Pezao, who is also the state's Secretary of Projects, said that Rio's government succeeded in including all of its projects in the Program for the Acceleration of Growth (PAC), created by the federal government to boost economic and social development in the country.

Pezao added that he regarded the investment as "a great victory" for Rio, whose population will see "an improvement in quality of life very soon."

Source: Xinhua