Sao Francisco River diversion. After years of negotiation and debate, a $2 billion project will now go ahead in the Sao Francisco River in Brazil. The project plans to will create a new channel for the 3,160 kilometer (1,600 mile) Sao Francisco River, Brazil's fourth-largest, to irrigate much of the country's arid Sertao region.The government says that changing river's course will benefit some 12 million poor people. Officials say they will probably launch work next month on a huge river-diversion project meant to benefit millions by irrigating large sections of the country's arid northeast, despite claims it will cause widespread environmental damage.