(Adds comments by Treasury official) BRASILIA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Brazil Treasury Secretary Bruno Funchal said on Wednesday that, with the economy growing, the debt to GDP ratio is projected to stabilize around 81.2%. Speaking to the congressional budget committee, Funchal said 2021 was a tough year, but Brazil’s fiscal situation is evolving positively now. The challenge he said, will be to keep public debt stable with higher interest rates. The Treasury is paying more than 10% interest on the issuance of 10-year bonds, which reflects the cost to Brazil risk and is higher than in other emerging country, he said. “Our fiscal situation still requires constant work to continue a consolidation process,” he said in a committee hearing. High long-term interest rates make investments more expensive, hampering job creation, so Brazil must work to bring interest rates down with organized public accounts, he said. Every percentage point increase in the benchmark Selic interest rate adds 30 billion reais in interest payments and thus to the public debt, Funchal said. Reporting by Marcela Ayres Editing by Chris Reese and Mark Porter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.