Monte Dourado is a town and district in the Brazilian municipality of Almeirim, in the state of Pará. Monte Dourando is a planned town established in 1967 to house the workers for the Jari project. The city is located on the Jari River.

Monte Dourado
Monte Dourado as seen from Laranjal do Jari
Monte Dourado as seen from Laranjal do Jari
Monte Dourado is located in Pará
Monte Dourado
Monte Dourado
Location in Brazil
Monte Dourado is located in Brazil
Monte Dourado
Monte Dourado
Monte Dourado (Brazil)
Coordinates: 0°51′51″S 52°32′25″W / 0.8642°S 52.5404°W / -0.8642; -52.5404
Country Brazil
RegionNorth
StatePará
MunicipalityAlmeirim
Population
 (2010)[1]
 • Total10,590
Time zoneUTC-3

History edit

In 1964,[2] Daniel K. Ludwig, an American billionaire, purchased 4,000,000 acres (1,600,000 ha) of rainforest in Brazil.[3] In 1967, he conceived the Jari project. The plan was to replace the rainforest with Gmelina arborea for the pulp industry.[4]

 
Cellulose factory in Munguba

A planned city called Monte Dourado (English: Golden Mountain) was built in Almeirim to house the workers. Ludwig started building schools, hospitals, roads, and ports. He wanted the Brazilian government to finance the construction of the city, but they refused.[2] The city was unable to provide housing for all the workers, and a shanty town called Beiradão (nowadays: Laranjal do Jari) emerged on the other side of the Jari River.[3]

The project turned into a major money losing failure, and in 1982, the land was sold.[5] In 1983, Monte Dourado became a district of Almeirim.[6]

Transport edit

Monte Dourado is linked to Almeirim via the PA-473 road.[7] The city of Laranjal do Jari can be reached by ferry.[8] Monte Dourado can be reached by air via the Monte Dourado Airport.[9]

Munguba edit

Munguba is the port and industrial centre for the Jari project. It is located 17 kilometres from Monte Dourado, and contains the power plant and pulp mill. Munguba is connected to Monte Dourado and the industrial sites by 75 kilometres of rail road track.[10] Munguba is located on the Jari River.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) (16 November 2011). "Sinopse por setores". Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "End of U.S. owner's dream in the Amazon jungle". UPI Archives. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "The Jari Project of Brazil". San José State University. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Laranjal do Jari" (PDF). IBGE via WebCitation (in Portuguese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Daniel Ludwig, Billionaire Businessman, Dies at 95". New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Almeirim". IBGE (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Operação Segurança sem Limites reforça combate à criminalidade nas fronteiras do Pará e Amapá". Government of Pará (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Balsa que faz travessia de laranjal do Jari para Monte Dourado está quebrada, no AP". Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Monte Dourado Airport". Airport Guide. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  10. ^ Gary S. Hartshorn (1979). "JARI" (PDF). INSTITUTE OF CURRENT WORLD AFFAIRS.
  11. ^ "Acid Plant Database". Sulphuric Acid on the Web. Retrieved 2 April 2021.