December 14th 2021 – The South Pacific Coastal Road is once again back in the news with reports that the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) will grant Nicaragua a loan of US $382.6 million for building highways and bridges that will benefit over half a million of the country’s population.
One of the projects is the Phase 1 of the South Pacific Coastal Road (Litoral Pacífico Sur) also known as the “Costanera”.
The loan, which is one of the largest amounts ever approved by CABEI, was announced in Tegucigalpa, Honduras this Monday and will fund projects covering the construction and improvement of 185.22 kilometers of roads in 11 municipalities in the departments of Rivas (south), Carazo (East), Managua (capital), Chinandega (West), Boaco (center) and the Autonomous Region of the South Caribbean Coast (RACCS).
The Nicaraguan investment will come from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI) who have agreed to invest the resources for 16 bridges that will be built for a total of 1,052.5 meters of bridge deck.
PROJECTS
The list of CABEI projects from their Press Release is as follows;
South Coastal Highway – Phase 1 of the Litoral Pacífico Sur (also known as La Costanera located in the tourist corridor of the southern Pacific of Nicaragua (municipalities of San Juan del Sur and Tola in the department of Rivas) which according to CABEI will benefit more than 232,000 people. Total project length is 119.49 kilometers.
For more information on the Pacific Coastal Route, click on this link; South Coastal Highway Nicaragua – A Brief History
Also this link relating to the current construction of the new road from Ochomogo to Las Salinas which was described as “the start of the construction of the ‘Coastal Highway’ (Costanera)” by Rosario Murillo, the Vice President of Nicaragua.
City of Corinto in the Department of Chinandega where an 8.07 kilometer by-pass will be built.
Phase II of the Wapi-El Tortuguero Road on the Southern Caribbean Coast (RACCS) – 45.9 kilometers.
La Calamidad-Empalme Masigue road in the Municipality of Camoapa in the Province of Boaco – 11.76 kilometers.
CABEI funds initiatives that “contribute to poverty reduction, road network expansion, tourism revitalization, as well as promoting regional integration and trade exchange”. The funding will be from regular resources and for a period of 15 years with a grace period of three years. The indicative interest rate is LIBOR 6 months (London Interbank Offered Rate) plus 215 basis points (2.15%).
More when we get it.
