Twelve cities hosting the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will benefit from a US$2.6 billion investment to improve their airports, according to Infraero. (David Silverman/Getty Images)

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – The awarding of World Cup 2014 and the 2016 Olympics to Brazil gives it a chance to solve a problem that has plagued the country for years: shoddy infrastructure.

Brazil’s hosting of two of the planet’s biggest sporting events in the next six years thrusts South America’s largest country into the international spotlight but also enables it to improve its citizens’ quality of life long after the games have finished.

Urban mobility is a main concern. But government officials said they’ll spend US$6 billion to improve transportation nationwide by using the funds to improve roads and develop a trolleybus system to alleviate traffic congestion between cities.

“We’re practically following the timeline, and the works will be completed by 2013,” says Marcio Fortes, the minister of cities. “We gathered ideas that could remain as a legacy.”

The country expects to invest US$24.5 billion in sanitation in an effort to prevent repeating what happened in April, when a massive rainstorm in the city of Rio de Janeiro flooded Maracanã, the country’s main stadium.

“The World Cup and the Olympics will take place out of the rainy season,” Fontes says. “So there is no risk of flooding.”

In Rio de Janeiro, which will host World Cup games and is the host for the Olympics in 2016, the public’s safety is a major concern.

The state of Rio is expected to increase its presence of military policemen. Today, there are 30,000 patrolling the streets, but in two years, the number is expected to nearly double to 54,000.

The state has strengthened its training program for policemen, who are given scholarships by the government to improve their education.

Rio’s local government is funding the construction of 4.75 miles of barriers around two major urban thoroughfares – the so-called Yellow and Red lines – that provide access to Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport but also are surrounded by crime-ridden slums.

Authorities said the barriers will isolate the routes and protect drivers from the kind of violent crime that prevails on both lines. The government also is relying on the Peacemaker Police Unit (UPP in the Brazilian acronym), a program already making the slums safer.

“Rio already was the stage of great events, such as Eco-92 and the Pan-American Games, and there were no problems,” says Tião Santos, the coordinator of the non-governmental organization Viva Rio. “Of course, the Cup and the Olympics are [attracting] more attention. The police are being trained and the results can be seen.”

The arrival of an expected 500,000 tourists collectively for the two events also presents a problem because the country’s hotels may not have enough room to accommodate the massive influx of visitors. State-owned banks have opened credit lines for hotel chains, but the industry is wary of investing.

“Some hotels can remain unoccupied after the world competition,” says Álvaro Brito Bezerra de Mello, president of the Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry (Abih in the Portuguese acronym). “The ideal option would be establishing a great part of the soccer teams in the cities with the higher number of beds.”

An alternative proposal centers on stationing cruise ships in the Atlantic Ocean to provide lodging for tourists visiting coastal cities, with ships on the Amazon River servicing inland destinations such as Manaus.

Brazil also is improving its airports. The government is investing US$2.6 billion to expand the capacity of airports in the 12 cities chosen to host World Cup games so they can handle what’s expected to be a 50% increase in passengers during the month-long tournament, according to the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero). The bulk of the money will be spent to bolster the airports in Brasília, Rio and São Paulo because they are hubs that offer connecting flights to cities nationwide, according to Infraero.

And then there are the soccer stadiums. The stadiums and fields will be modernized for the World Cup, which will make them more environmentally friendly, according to Vicente Castro Mello, who recently completed a study of 29 stadiums nationwide for the National Consultancy Engineering Companies Union.

The stadium in the city of Recife is the only one being built from scratch. By remodeling stadiums already in use, Brazil will reduce the World Cup’s environmental impact.

“Brazil has the great opportunity to create the first Green Cup,” Castro Mello says. “The stadiums are being modified, using preexisting structures, which avoid the need of interfering in green areas.”

The projects were designed under the concept of “eco-arenas,” using photovoltaic cells to capture solar power. Programs to collect recyclable materials and conserve water are in the process of being implemented.

“It will be the great legacy of this Cup,” Castro Mello says.