As soon as he had signed the law creating Novacap (Companhia Urbanizadora da Nova Capital ? the Company for Urbanization of the New Capital) on September 19, 1956, Juscelino wanted to get to know the place where the new capital would be built and he scheduled a trip for October 2. A variety of things were arranged in a hurry. Just a few days before the trip, several amenities were still lacking. An improvised runway was needed. The vice governor of Goiás state, Bernardo Sayão, would build it in the middle of the cerrado, as requested by Marechal José Pessoa, then chairman of the “Commission for the Location of the New Federal Capital”. José Pessoa had asked governor Juca Ludovico to provide three things: The construction of a runway, the erection of a crucifix at the most elevated place of the region, and the opening of an access road to the Paranoá waterfall. That year, the rain season in early spring had damaged the improvised runway, which began to be gradually overgrown by rampant vegetation. The runway needed repair before Juscelino could be received. So, Sayão himself left Goiânia city and saw to it that the runway was cleared and improved with DERGO equipment (Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem do Estado de Goiás ? Department of Roads of Goiás state). On October 2, about noon, an airplane of the Brazilian Air Force landed with the President on board. Juscelino was accompanied by General Teixeira Lott, his Minister of Defence; Admiral Lúcio Meira, Minister of Roadways and Transportation; Antônio Balbino, Governor of Bahia state; General Nelson de Melo, Chief-of-Staff; Israel Pinheiro, President of Novacap; Brigadier Araripe Macedo, of the Brazilian Air Force; Commander Marcelo Ramos, the President’s personal secretary; Major Dilermando Silva, his under-secretary; the engineer Regis Bittencourt, Director of DNER (Departamento Nacional de Estradas de Rodagem – National Roadway Department); and the pilots Colonel Lino Teixeira, Colonel Renato Goulart, Colonel Resende Neves, Major Múcio Scorzelle and Captain Gama e Souza. The architects Oscar Niemeyer and Ernesto Silva, the administrative director of Novacap, were also part of this group, and some members of the recently created National Council for Development as well as some guests of the President. At the airport, several spectators were waiting for the airplane in the shade of a long building with a thatched straw-roof that had been built at the request of Sayão. There, the Governor Juca Ludovico, Sayão himself (at that time already designated Executive Director of Novacap), and Altamiro de Moura Pacheco were waiting for the plane, along with journalists and others. Altamiro de Moura Pacheco was President of the Cooperation Commission that had been established one year earlier by the state government of Goiás in order to coordinate the transfer of the capital to Brasília. Responding to questions of journalists, the President confirmed his decision to move the capital and stated that he hoped to hand over the presidency to the next President in the new capital, the construction of which was about to commence. He also said that, according to a time schedule established by Novacap’s directorate, the new capital would be ready for use in three years and ten months. Leaving the runway of the airport behind, everybody went to the locale where a dark wooden crucifix had been erected. This was the highest spot in the region, and provided an ample view of the location that had been chosen for the new city. This crucifix had also been erected at the request of Marechal Pessoa (Marshall Pessoa). Moved by the ample landscape as it extended to the horizon, Juscelino called Israel and Niemeyer over, and they left the group. They discussed and decided, as they had already contemplated before, not to wait for the outcome of the Pilot Plan Contest to begin the construction of Brasilia. Something could be done immediately without impairing this contest, the deadline of which would be extended until March of the following year for approximately another six months. They decided that a nucleus to support the work should be established immediately so that, after the result of the Pilot Plan Contest would become known, construction could begin immediately. Moreover, the construction of the President’s residence and of a high-level hotel should begin at once too. From the crucifix, they turned to the Fazenda do Gama (Gama’s Farm) in whose neighborhood the first campsite would be built. The location was very beautiful, with a small forest in the middle of the cerrado and some water fountains in the shade of trees. Juscelino wanted to fly over the region. So, governor Ludovico lent him the small airplane in which he had come from Goiânia. Ludovico and Altamiro chose to fly with the President since they knew the region very well. Back at the airport, Juscelino conferred with Israel and Niemeyer again. With the plants and maps at hand, he chose the approximate location for the President’s residence, for the hotel, and for the first construction sites. Later, on November 1, on another trip to the region, Israel, Niemeyer, and the engineer Marco Paulo Rabelo, would determine the exact location for these buildings. The President’s residence would be built at the margin of a future pond, at the limits of the future city. Choosing this remote location, they expected to prevent losses and avoid delays in the development of the project, for which urban experts, city planers, and architects were preparing designs under the Pilot Plan Contest. By sunset, Juscelino flew back to Rio. During the trip, Juscelino asked General Lott for army huts in order to accommodate the first engineers and workers who would soon move to the Planalto to work. The Minister was confused with all he had seen that day, and asked back: —Mr. President, do you really intend to transfer the Capital?