Iván Acosta, Minister of Finance and Public Credit, has announced that Russian banks have confirmed their interest in financing the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport infrastructure improvement project.
In a discussion with Sputnik News, Acosta confirmed that they have been talking about the international airport in Managua as well as the expansion of airport services around the country. He suggested that the expansion of the International Airport could begin sometime between 2022 and 2023.
Acosta didn’t identify which Russian banks he had been talking to, however he did say they have shown interest in financing various infrastructure projects, one of them being the much talked about port at Bluefields on the south Caribbean).
We are talking fundamentally about the international airport, the investment in the Sandino Airport and the expansion of airport services in the country, Minister Acosta told the Sputnik Agency.
The Minister of Finance stated that the Nicaraguan government has invited Russian banks to consider the infrastructure projects mentioned above and they have shown an interest. Currently they are negotiating interest rates and concession terms.
Acosta confirmed that the bigger picture of Nicaragua becoming a staging point for the expansion of Russian trade in Latin and Central America has already begun with the strengthening of trade and cooperation deals between Russia and Nicaragua.
According to 2021 data, Nicaragua currently exports products such as coffee, seafood, beef, tobacco and peanuts to Russia. On the import side of the balance of trade, Nicaragua has imported agricultural machinery, buses, medicine and food.
Acosta believes that opportunities exist to improve y on exports of Nicaraguan products to Russia, a country of more than 140 million people.
Acosta highlighted the agreement that created the Mechnikov Latin American Institute of Biotechnology in Managua, the Russian/Nicaragua laboratory that will produce the Russian vaccine CoviVac for COVID-19. As well, the line of credit for US $ 16 million for the purchase of 300 buses from the Russian Federation required for the renewal of the existing fleet.
