El Salvador to receive US$115mn for modernizing sports infrastructure

El Salvador’s government is set to modernize 25 sports complexes in the next two years with a US$115mn loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei).

Authorities and Cabei’s president, Dante Mossi, signed the loan contract Thursday to fund the Prodeporte sports program, which seeks to rehabilitate, improve and equip the facilities in time for the upcoming XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games.

The sports event was due to take place in Panama in May 2022, but the country pulled out of its hosting rights last year. The games’ organizers then awarded the rights to El Salvador, moving up the date to May 2023.

A detailed calendar or work plan to use the bank’s financing has not been released yet, but authorities said it will benefit some 110,190 athletes and create more than 4,000 jobs. 

The loan was also approved on June 8 by the country’s legislative assembly, which mentioned a few of the sports complexes that would be included under the program.

These are the Saturnino Bengoa national park, the Las Delicias stadium, the "Mágico" González stadium, the Palacio Nacional de los Deportes stadium, the El Polvorín complex, the Ecuestre San Andrés complex, the Ciudad Merliot sport complex and the Adolfo Pineda national gym, among others.

Under Cabei’s loan conditions, the government will be able to pay back the loan in 20 years, including four years of grace period and an indicative 2.79% annual interest rate.