Press Release

Nicaragua to rehabilitate key stretch of road with US$5 million loan from OPEC Fund

141/2005 December 21, Vienna, Austria
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The OPEC Fund for International Development today signed a US$5 million loan agreement with the Republic of Nicaragua to co-finance rehabilitation of a key section of the Pan American Highway. The aims of the scheme are to foster the country’s regional integration and enable the population to have unhampered access to social services, marketplaces and employment opportunities.

One of Nicaragua’s most important links, the Pan American Highway provides passage to Honduras in the north and Costa Rica to the south. Although most of the highway has been rehabilitated, the section between Las Flores and Nandaime is more than 35 years old and has been maintained only sporadically. The stretch, which is located in the south-west, serves some 240,000 individuals, most of whom derive their livelihoods from agriculture. As the road represents the primary method of transporting inputs and produce, its upgrading is vital to the local population.

Under the project, the 27 km-long road will be upgraded to an asphalt surface and drainage systems repaired and replaced where necessary. Embankments will be stabilized, especially those located in high-risk slide areas. Also envisaged is the rehabilitation of culverts and two bridges, as well as installation of signaling devices and protective barriers.

The newly-improved road will help reduce travel time and vehicle operating costs for numerous farming communities and ease the movement of agricultural goods to and from the capital Managua.

Including this loan, the Fund has approved financing to Nicaragua totaling US$129 million. These provided balance of payments support, delivered debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, helped finance commodity imports programs and supported projects in the transportation, agriculture, education, and water supply and sewerage sectors. Fund grants went to provide emergency assistance to Nicaragua, as well as to finance a water supply and environmental sanitation program and technical assistance schemes in the energy sector.  

Today’s agreement was signed in Vienna by Ms. Isolda Frixione, Chargé d' Affaires of the Embassy of Nicaragua in Austria, and by HE Mr. Jamal Nasser Lootah, Chairman of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund.