With $27 million the World Bank will be financing from August the construction of the 26 kilometers of the road between Bluefields and San Francisco in the municipality of Nueva Guinea.
The road will be built with reinforced concrete within a period of two years and the Costa Rican company MECO SA will be running the project.
Omar Jimenez, representative of MECO, told Elnuevodiario.com.ni that they have "..." a strategy for working in the area considering it rains nine or ten months a year, but we have experience in such work and expect to carry it out within the stipulated time. '"
An extension of 7 kilometers from the Masaya highway that will be managed by the Nicaragua Ministry of Transportation will decongest vehicular traffic, but will bring in temporary complications for businesses established along the highway.
On Sunday January 20, works started with the removal of two pedestrian bridges and some signs, located at kilometer 7 of the highway to Masaya.
This year the Nicaraguan Ministry of Transportation plans to pave 220 new kilometers and perform maintenance on 1,100 kilometers of roads.
Within the work planned is the paving of about 220 km of new roads and the maintenance of 1,100 km of roads and intercity streets, said the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, José Amadeo Santana.
"Although Santana did not specify what the pending projects are, he said a focus on rural roads is a priority this year, because they are trying to pave 140 kilometers funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE ).
With an investment of $45 million the government will carry out maintenance and construction works on 86 kilometers of roads in the north of the country.
Among the works planned is improvements to the section from San Sebastian de Yali to Condega and the stretch La Laguna-La Laguna, which joins Jinotega,San Rafael del Norte and San Sebastian de Yali.
The Tourist Scenic Coastal Highway on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua and Central and South Poneloya could be extended so that it connects with Leon.
Representatives of the Italian company SPIN are expected to visit the country in the next 60 days, with a technical and financial proposal to build the so-called "Tourist Scenic Coastal Highway on the Pacific and Central and South Coast of Nicaragua."
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in Nicaragua is calling for expressions of interest for the implementation of the Road Safety Strategy 2013-2018 Program.
The Government of the Republic of Nicaragua has received financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in order to develop a Road Program for the Project for Supporting Transport Sector I, and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consultant services contracts.
From 17 to 18 October 2012 there will be a meeting in Bogota for major infrastructure project developers, investors, employees and service providers.
Colombia is aiming to triple investment in infrastructure in order to modernize roads and railways, and through this optimize the implementation of trade agreements with global economies.
The project for a long road to the Nicaraguan Pacific is awaiting Italian investors, or others, to take up interest in the idea again.
The mega project for a main road linking the Pacific beaches of Nicaragua, aroused the interest of Italian and Spanish investors last year, under the banner of the Nicaragua - Europe Business Meeting 2011.
In this regard, Mario Salinas, chief executive of the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (Intur), said that there is still interest from Italian who may come to the country in the coming months to formally submit an offer to the Government.
Latin America needs to double its investment in infrastructure, setting clear and long lasting rules in order to create strong and efficient public-private partnerships.
According to recent studies, on an international grading system the average grade for infrastructure in Latin America is 3.6 points out of 10, compared to the 5.4 average of the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) , said the Spanish State secretary for Infrastructure, Rafael Catala.
Nicaragua's National Assembly has approved a loan to be used to finance a Project for the Improvement of Rural Road Infrastructure.
From the press release from the National Assembly of Nicaragua:
The plenary of the National Assembly approved the February 23rd, a loan agreement between the Government of Nicaragua and the International Development Association (IDA) at the World Bank, amounting to 35 million dollars in order to finance a rural road infrastructure improvement project.
2,500 km of roads are in good condition, while another 15,000 km need maintenance.
"The problem is that every new kilometer of road costs at least half a million dollars, on average", said the head of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI), Pablo Fernando Martinez, according to an article in LaPrensa.com.ni.
With a guaranteed investment and the construction of 600 km per year, Nicaragua will be able to complete the construction of all the major roads needed in 10 years, Martinez said. This will mean access roads in good condition in areas such as Waslala, San Sebastian de Yali, Condega (all in the north), El Ayote (center) and other zones.
At the First Central American Forum on Energy and Infrastructure Project Finance, participants highlighted the number of ventures taking place in Central America in these sectors.
The Panama Canal expansion is just one example that stands out of the many investment projects in energy and infrastructure, both public and private, going on in Central America, in contrast to the sluggishness in Europe, according to participants in the industry forum held in Panama.
The World Bank loan will help improve the country’s rural road infrastructure.
From the World Bank press release:
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved a project for $35 million that will help improve the infrastructure of rural roads in Nicaragua and will benefit about 75,000 people, of whom just over half are women.
The infrastructure improvements in rural roads project has the following objectives: expanding the rural population’s access to markets and social and administrative services through improvements in road infrastructure, strengthening the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI) against the risk of natural disasters and support the generation of employment opportunities in the short term for the inhabitants of the areas.
With a $ 2 million investment, works began to repair 200 km of road infrastructure.
The Road Maintenance Fund, FOMAV, began repairing roads in critical areas within the country that were destroyed after heavy rains last year.
In the western region works will range from the Rancheria area to Campuzano, in Chinandega, also in Somotillo, Rodeo Grande, Valle Los Quesos, Villanueva and Las Pilas, all these areas located in the same department," notes End.com.ni.