Within three months, the government will install a new and complete security system in its main administrative buildings, with closed-circuit television and electronic and visual control of the people and vehicles gaining access to the area around the official buildings.
The system will be installed in the Planalto, Alvorada and Jaburu palaces, as well as in the Torto Ranch (where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is now living), palace annexes and in the A Block of the [Ministerial] Esplanade, where the office of the Government Communication Secretariat's chief minister, Luiz Gushiken, is situated. The call for tenders, opened at the end of October, closed on 15 December and was won by Telematica Intelligent Systems, which already has plans to start work this month.
The new system will cost R3.2m [reals], according to the result of the tendering process, which was published in the Official Gazette. In the proposal presented by Planalto Palace [the presidential offices in Brasilia], the estimated cost for installing the security system was R4.6m. Of the R3.2 million, about R1m will go towards installing the system of at least 225 fixed and mobile cameras and 30 monitoring stations. The other R2.2m will be used to buy and install at least 18 turnstiles, 51 doors with alarms and security barriers, 35,000 cards and 176 readers for controlling the access of people and cars.
According to the contract proposal, the objective of the purchase of equipment is "the implementation of a new system that will permit effective control, reducing the risks and lowering the number of incidents, with the application of on-line security resources with the storage of images and events".
Calculations to determine the amount of equipment needed were made based on the number of people and cars that today pass through Planalto: 2,600 officials and employees, 1,800 service providers and contractors, 600 visitors a day and 3,300 vehicles that use the car parks.
But this number is expected to be expanded to a minimum of 20,000 officials and employees, 10,000 contractors and service providers, 10,000 vehicles and 50,000 visitors. The Presidency is not stipulating a time-frame for when this will occur but says that the service of controlling and monitoring access to the buildings will be contracted for with these minimum projected figures in mind.
In several of the contract items there is excessive concern with blocking the access of unauthorized persons to certain parts of the palace's offices. Access to the offices of the president, vice-president and ministers who occupy Planalto or the A Block of the Esplanade will have special doors with alarms that will go off if opened by unauthorized personnel or if they remain open for longer than the allotted time. There will also be an alarm that will sound if there is an attempt to break down the door or gain unlawful entry, and scanners that will allow access via fingerprints.
Turnstiles will be installed at the palace and annex entrances. In addition to the turnstiles, cameras will be installed so that people can be identified upon entry and the data can be stored so that they can be checked later. All the employees responsible for installing the system will be registered by Planalto and are expected to refrain from divulging or discussing any information about the activities of the company that is setting up the system. The contract with the company will cover a 40-month period.
Another government requirement for the installation of the new system is that all employees must receive a smart card, a sort of intelligent identification card. It should contain biometric data that will allow the person authorized to enter "high-risk areas" in order to be identified by their fingerprints or the geometry of their handprint.
