Cabinet Council approves draft General State Budget for 2025: $9,341 million for investments

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

Cabinet Council approves draft General State Budget for 2025: $9,341 million for investments

The Cabinet Council, headed by the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, today approved Bill No. 40-24, which establishes the General State Budget for the fiscal year 2025, which amounts to B/.26,835.2 million.

The 2025 Budget project is based on a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 3%, a rate slightly above that calculated for this year, which is 2.5%.

For investments, the 2025 Budget project will allocate B/.9,341.4 million, which will be concentrated in the sectors of Education, Health, Infrastructure (Panama Metro, the fourth bridge over the Canal, the road rehabilitation plan, among other works); Environment, Security and Drinking Water.

During the presentation of the 2025 Budget, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman, reiterated that Panama is not going through an economic or fiscal crisis. “We have important fiscal challenges and we are solving them,” he clarified.

Chapman also said that the spending control and fiscal measures are already yielding some benefits, such as lower interest rates on Panamanian debt and more investment. “We have received many expressions of interest from companies that want to invest in Panama,” Chapman said.

The Cabinet Council also approved Resolution No. 121-24, which authorizes the Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman, to present to the National Assembly the draft law of the General State Budget for 2025.

Panama-David-Border Railway Project Declared of Public Interest

The Cabinet Council approved Resolution 122-24, which declares the Panama - David - Frontera Railway project to be of public interest, and instructs the Ministry of Economy and Finance ( MEF ) to allocate the necessary budget items for the studies that are appropriate for the execution of the work.

The Cabinet Decree also instructs the MEF to include said project in the State's Five-Year Indicative Plan for Public Investments.

The declaration of public interest is due to the need for an integration of all areas of the project, through a means of transport dedicated to goods produced in these areas, as well as goods in transit and the transport of people, which will have a national impact for each of the provinces through which it will pass, stressed the Resolution approved today in the Cabinet Council.

It is reiterated that the National Railway Secretariat will be in charge of the studies, planning, design and execution of all actions necessary for the execution of a "railway" type transportation system for goods and people, which will be called "Panama-David-Frontera Railway", within the framework of the Political Constitution, the laws and regulations in force in the Republic of Panama.

The National Railway Secretariat will also have the responsibility of coordinating, with all State entities, civil society and the private sector, all actions it deems necessary for the execution of the Panama-David-Border Railway project.