São Paulo is the first state in the country to have a nautical development plan.

Delivered by the Paulista Nautical Forum, an institution chaired by former state deputy Marco Antônio Castello Branco and linked to the State Secretariat of Tourism and Travel, the plan is the result of years of research and debates among professionals in the field, as well as research with 80 municipalities with nautical potential and businesspeople in the sector.

This unprecedented work contains a true "treasure map" of national nautical development, as it exposes and proposes solutions to bottlenecks in legislation, opens space for new technologies, and even addresses tourism and leisure issues involving the Brazilian Navy.

In our country, we have one boat for every 500 people, which is far below other nearby locations, such as Argentina. The opposite extreme is New Zealand, which has one boat for every nine inhabitants. Our potential for growth, job creation, and income generation in this sector is immense, and most of the barriers to overcome are cultural.

The waterborne transportation system being implemented on the Billings reservoir in the capital, and which SPhidro plans to expand to other waterways such as those in the Baixada Santista region, will cause a revolution, making it clear to the average citizen that water is a space to be used and not just for contemplation.

In addition to this, we have the embarkation and disembarkation facilities that are being inaugurated in 13 cities in the interior of São Paulo state. This investment by SETUR (São Paulo State Tourism Secretariat) was conceived and driven by the historic struggle of the members of the FNP (National Front of Mayors).

The São Paulo Nautical Development Plan, which I coordinate with great honor, maps out a series of scenarios that go beyond tourism, including, for example, the public utility of nautical infrastructure in the case of civil defense actions.

Currently in the final stages of development, Secretary Roberto de Lucena intends to present the project to Governor Tarcísio de Freitas later this year so that the actions can begin to be implemented from 2024 onwards, after validation by the tourism chamber of the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo (ALESP), headed by State Representative Paulo Corrêa.