In order to redirect public resources due to the covid-19 outbreak, the government decided that investment projects that have not started to be implemented and those that are at an advanced stage will be suspended.
A letter signed by the Minister of Finance, Nelson Fuentes, and sent to the heads of state institutions, explains that the programs and projects contained in the Budget and Annual Public Investment Program Law (PAIP) are suspended.
With the deadline for Congress to approve the 2020 public budget expiring, the Guatemalan government must work with the 2019 budget, so some investments in public infrastructure could come to a halt in the first months of the year.
Last November 30, the deadline for the Congress of the Republic to approve the draft budget of income and expenditures of the nation for 2020, which amounted to Q91.9 billion ($11.9 billion) and was not endorsed by most deputies.
Road maintenance for $258 million, construction of an overpass for $58 million and the development of an energy park for $19 million, are some of the investments included in the 2020 National General Budget project.
Regarding the general amount of public investment included in the Fodes de las Alcaldías, the project discussed in the Assembly contemplates that by 2020 it would reach $1.243 million, an amount that would be 23% higher than that approved for 2019.
The Costa Rican government announced that in the remainder of 2019 and next year, it plans to invest about $158 million in the modernization of international and regional air terminals.
In the international airports Daniel Oduber, Tobías Bolaños and Limón, works for more than $131 million will be executed, according to official plans. Almost $27 million would be invested in aerodromes in Palmar Sur, Golfito, Pérez Zeledón, Guápiles, Quepos, Tortuguero, Coto 47 and Puerto Jiménez, informed the Costa Rican government.
The proportion of public debt to GDP is about to reach 60%, the maximum limit allowed by law, which will force the government to restrict capital spending in the coming years, in order to avoid further deterioration of public finances.
The Treasury authorities indicated that at the end of 2019 the country's public debt will represent 59% of production, adverse scenario for investment, because according to the fiscal rule, when the proportion reaches 60% will affect capital spending, since the government must begin to contain expenditures.
The Guatemalan government endorsed the modernization of La Aurora International Airport, which costs about $117 million, through a public-private partnership.
After the consulting firm Deloitte Tetra Tech was hired to prepare feasibility studies, with the aim of establishing contract models that could be applied to modernize the Guatemalan air terminal, it was recommended that a public-private partnership (PPP) is the most efficient way.
Through a cooperation agreement with the Mexican government, El Salvador will reforest nearly 50,000 hectares of land in different parts of the country.
The presidents of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, and of the United Mexican States, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, signed on June 20 in Tapachula, state of Chiapas, a cooperation agreement for the planting of 50,000 hectares in El Salvador, a project that will generate 20,000 jobs and is part of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for Central America, informed the presidency of El Salvador.
Partly because of the government's reduced availability of resources from domestic sources, public investment in the first three months of the year totaled $87.7 million, 52% less than in the same period in 2018.
According to reports from the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the Public Investment Plan (PIP), which includes projects for the construction, expansion and rehabilitation of infrastructure, decreased by $95.7 million between the first quarter of 2018 and the same period of 2019, from $183.4 million to $87.7 million.
In Costa Rica, investments in the construction of highways, roads and bridges are forecast to grow in 2019 and 2020, by 47% and 10%, respectively.
The 2019-2020 Macroeconomic Program of the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), explains that by 2019, the acceleration in the development of road infrastructure projects will be the main engine of growth in public investment.
In the next five years, the Guatemalan government plans to invest in the renovation of existing buildings and the construction of new customs infrastructure.
The investments, which will be in charge of the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) and which correspond to the Program of Integral Customs Modernization (MIAD) 2019-2023, contemplate two major components, which are infrastructure and technology.
The 2019 budget approved by the National Assembly includes almost $9 billion for investments and $2.943 million for debt service.
Panamanian authorities informed that the approved project includes an adjustment of 350 million balboas additional to the budget initially budgeted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
According to a MEF statement, from this total, $8,996 million are for investments, another $11,930 million will be used for the functioning of the State, and $2,943 million for debt service.
Because of the reduction of funds from the Public Investment Program from $552 million in 2018 to $506 million in 2019, construction is expected to suffer negative effects in Nicaragua.
According to Nicaraguan government estimates, construction will fall 21% this year compared to 2017, and in 2019 the contraction could reach 11%.
Regarding the performance of construction in the country, Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that "...
In the first six months of the year, government entities from the countries of the region submitted 73 environmental impact studies for the construction of different public infrastructure projects.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", from the Trade Intelligence Area of CentralAmericaData, provides the updated list of public and private construction projects that present the environmental impact studies (EIA) to the respective institutions of each country.
In 2017 in the Dominican Republic, private investments in the construction sector totaled $750 million, above the $687 million reported by the government.
The Dominican Chamber of Construction presented the "Study of the Economic and Labor Impact of the Construction Industry", which details that inthe last ten years construction has been the second largest sector of the Dominican economy. In 2017 it represented almost 10% of nominal GDP (US $7,455 MM).
The road infrastructure investment plan announced by the Alvarado administration includes, among other things, the allocation of $350 million for the San José-San Ramón, San José-Cartago, and San Carlos road routes.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Works:
"These projects will be financed with existing resources of unutilised credit and with the public-private partnership scheme, so they will not put pressure on public finances.