Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday on a radio program that he will visit the construction sites of the facilities to be used for the 2007 Pan American Games.

The Federal Government granted 1.5 billion reais (US$717 million U.S. dollars) to the project. Lula stated that, of that amount, 385 million reais (US$184 million U.S. dollars) will be used to implement a modern security system, which will continue to operate in Rio de Janeiro following the end of the July 13-29 Games.

"This security system that we are implementing will serve as model to Brazil. It will be headquartered in Rio and, whenever we need specialized security, we will already have a role-model," said Lula.

Lula stressed how important it was for the country to host the event, which will gather over 5,000 athletes. According to him, it will be a chance to prove Brazil's competence in the area, and therefore a portfolio to be presented when launching candidacy to host an even bigger event.

"In a while, we will want to try to host the Olympic Games, as we are currently trying to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In each of those events that we may hold, we will have to prove competent, and provide security," he added.