Boom, Burst, and Doom: The Petrochemical Complex of Rio de Janeiro as Catalyzer of Urban-Regional Development

Abstract

Natural resource-led development is widely debated because of the difficulties of converting mineral wealth into greater social welfare. Thus, the construction of the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex - COMPERJ in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the largest Brazilian oil and gas producer, was undertaken as a strategy to overcome the effects of the "curse of natural resources" through productive diversification and urban improvements in part of Rio de Janeiro’s metropolitan periphery with historically deficient opportunities for social development and urban infrastructure. In this context, the article analyzes the trajectory of urban and regional development in the eastern portion of the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro between 2006 and 2016, highlighting the boom, burst, and doom of regional socio-economic dynamics. The study points out the main features and objectives of the project, the region's challenges at the time of the "mirage" breakdown of large industry-led growth, as well as its current conditions. The analysis of COMPERJ and its regional impacts reveals the risks and paradoxes of investing in this type of industrial megaproject as a platform to promote social development for a region lacking economic diversification and urban-regional planning.

Keywords:
Industrialization; Natural resources; Urban and regional development; Job market; Megaprojects