Brazilian government disburses $895m emergency loan to Rio to step up security during Olympics

The Brazilian government has additionally provided R$2.9bn (£677m; $895m) to Rio de Janeiro as emergency loan, amid growing concerns that lack of funds would hamper security arrangements in the city hosting the 2016 Olympic Games. The Rio administration had recently announced a financial emergency and sparked security fears ahead of the sporting event scheduled to be held in August.

The situation worsened in the past week as Rio police protested against the delay in salary disbursements and lack of basic amenities like toilet papers and stationary articles in their offices. A mutilated body that washed up on the sands of Copacabana Beach on Wednesday added to safety fears in the city as hundreds of thousands of athletes and tourists are expected to throng the city within weeks.

The aid, confirmed in the government's Official Gazette, is being disbursed to enable authorities in the city to step up security arrangements for the Olympics. Moreover, the government wants security tightened at the Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport in the wake of recent terror attacks at airports in Brussels and Istanbul, Reuters reported.

Also, officials in Rio were of the view that the ongoing work of the metro line that will connect downtown Rio to the Olympics Village would not be completed in time for the sporting events. Hence, the state administration had sought for an additional R$500m to step up the completion work, but it was not provided with additional funds. Nonetheless, the federal government said that the loan given for security spending will free up state funds for completion of the metro project.

The Olympic Games will commence on 5 August and will conclude on 21 August. Brazil is hosting the grand sporting event amid an economic recession that has drained public finances and is also threatening public safety.