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.
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 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 Municipality of Guatemala City reported that it plans to implement two new lines of the Transmetro service, which will involve bringing 28 stations into operation.
The mayor of the Guatemalan capital, Ricardo Quiñónez, explained to Dca.gob.gt that "... medium and long-term planning has been established, in relation to the Transmetro service, which includes the implementation of two new lines: 7, to zone 12, and 5, to zone 5."
Two irrigation system construction projects are being prepared in different municipalities in the departments of Yoro, La Paz, Intibucá, Lempira, Atlántida, Cortés and Santa Bárbara.
The projects that will be executed are the Programa de Desarrollo Agrícola Bajo Riego (PDABR), and the Project of Competitiveness and Sustainable Development of the South Western Border Corridor (PRO-LENCA), whose investments will be $25.3 million and $27.8 million respectively..
In the first projects that are planned to be developed as part of the plan, around $116 million will be invested in construction works, vehicle purchases and other things.
The first investments will be made in seven departments, and the province to which the most resources have been allocated is Quiché, which will receive an investment of $46 million.In this region, 43 projects will be implemented, including the construction of a service center and the acquisition of garbage trucks.
The Guatemalan government has announced the investment of $34 million in improvement works on 15 educational centers and the construction of six, in different areas of the country.
Authorities at the Ministry of Education presented the V Rural Education Program, which will be developed in 21 municipalities in six departments.According to government representatives, the works are expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
A bill put forward by the Executive extends the benefit of the Colon Free Zone to the streets of the city, and another supports the implementation of the Special System of Freeports in the province.
From a statement issued by the Government of the Republic of Panama:
An investment of $600 million has been announced, in 22 projects in the province of Colon.
The state run company ENEE is selecting enterprises to expand the capacity of the hydroelectric plants Canaveral and Rio Lindo, in the north of the country.
The idea is for funds to be managed through a distribution trust, which would use money raised through the security tax.
The manager of Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctric (ENEE), Roberto Ordonez, explained that "...
A sewerage system, a convention center, housing and schools, are part of the projects announced for this year in the province of Herrera.
From a statement issued by the Government of Panama:
During the Cabinet Council held at the Colegio José Octavio Huertas in the district of Pesé projects were announced in the order of $74.8 million to be executed in the province of Herrera.