Bolivia reignites dispute over highway project financing

Financing for the Okinawa-Los Troncos highway is once again causing a rift between Bolivia’s central government and the opposition-led Santa Cruz department, as locals have now resorted to blocking roads to demand the execution of the US$71mn project before its environmental license expires.

The latest protests are being staged by transport sector drivers from the municipalities of San Julián, Cuatro Cañadas, and Guarayos, which have blocked the main roads linking Santa Cruz with the neighboring Beni department.

Tensions rose as the Santa Cruz government said it could only cover 20% of the project’s cost, as opposed to the 30% requested by national road authority ABC.

But this is not the only point of contention surrounding the road, as the local administration argues that the project’s environmental license will expire on November 7 with unmet concerns regarding the impact on local rivers, said the department’s economic development secretary, Edgar Landívar.

In a Santa Cruz government press release, Landívar said that covering 30% of the cost for the 33km road is "impossible." It is estimated that the 10% difference would come out to 50mn bolivianos (US$7.2mn). 

On the other side, public works minister Édgar Montaño (pictured) accused Landívar of “disappearing” from a meeting that sought to find an agreement on the issue and that his arguments regarding the project’s environmental impact were meant to “confuse” the population. 

Meanwhile, some organizations behind the latest protests have taken Montaño’s side on the financing dispute, giving the Santa Cruz government 48 hours to guarantee the local investment amounting to 30% of the project's costs, state-owned news agency ABI reported. 

This is not the first time that the central government calls out local administrations for not paying their share of project costs, although this approach has been criticized as the national government handles 85% of the general budget, leaving municipalities and departments short-handed.