Infrastructure integration public policy in transport and accommodation in Amapá, Brazil

Abstract

This article addresses integration public policy (IPP) at the Municipality of Oiapoque, in northern Amapá State, Brazil – the locus of research. Oiapoque, as an international border, an area of ​​interest between two countries, has been an arena for infrastructure IPP. Two concrete public policy actions affect Oiapoque: a) the building of the Oyapock River Bridge (linking the municipalities of Oiapoque, in Amapá, and Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock, in French Guiana); and b) the BR-156 highway. The research depicts the actual impacts of these works on the sectors of transport (‘catraia’ boatmen) and accommodation (hoteliers) in Oiapoque, in addition to the participation of senators representing Amapá, Randolfe Rodrigues (from Rede Sustentabilidade [REDE]) and Davi Alcolumbre (from Democratas [DEM]) in the building of these IPP. To do this, 2 statements were proposed as working hypotheses: a) “opening the Oyapock River Bridge has brought positive impacts for both the transport sector and the accommodation sector”; and b) “failing to asphalt the northern stretch of the BR-156 highway brings negative impacts on the economic dynamics of the accommodation sector.” The 2-year time lag between the bridge inauguration and the conduct of research (in April and May 2019), with ‘catraia’ boatmen and hoteliers, is enough to assess whether both sectors were positively impacted by the public policy at stake.