The European Investment Bank is providing a EUR 20 million loan to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) to support investment in 100 km of the Honduran corridor connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific Coast.
The project's purpose is to construct and upgrade to a paved road part of the Honduran Logistical Corridor that most directly connects the northern Puerto Cortés, on the Honduran Atlantic Coast, with Villa de San Antonio - Goascorán in the south, close to the Pacific Ocean.
The new road link will as well connect the Honduran Atlantic coastal region with the Pan-American Highway, running North-South through the continent, and will allow a direct link with Puerto Cutuco, El Salvador's port on the Pacific. A main benefit will stem from linking highly productive zones involving agriculture, fishing, tourism, port and industrial activities. Facilitated cargo movement between the two oceans will underpin greater demand for export and import. New investment opportunities and consequent increased competition are meant to favor economic efficiency in other Central American countries.
Additionally, the new road will reduce the current travel distance passing through Tegucigalpa by some 100 km, reducing vehicle-operating cost and making significant timesaving possible. The economic development perspectives of the Southeastern Honduran departments, some of the poorest geographical areas of the country, will improve due to facilitated access to the main road network, to markets and to local social services.
The project is part of the Plan Puebla - Panama initiative, a regional action plan to improve cross-border infrastructure in Central America and Mexico. Other sources of finance for the project include the Nordic Investment Bank and the Mexican Government. The project is expected to be completed by end 2007.