Guatemala to carry out highway maintenance region by region

Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo said the communications, infrastructure and housing ministry (CIV) will carry out maintenance on national highways region by region.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Arévalo was quoted as saying by daily La Hora that the repairs will not be carried out according to each stretch as was done in the past but by regions with all corresponding tenders. 

Several highways have been damaged by heavy rainfall caused by hurricanes and storms, including the Interamerican highway where a stretch collapsed and landslides forced authorities to close the route.

The Pacific highway was also damaged when a sewerage system was overwhelmed and the paving was flooded. 

These and other damaged stretches will be grouped by regions to carry out repair works, and tenders will be launched based on this system. Arévalo did not provide any more details about the bidding processes for highway maintenance that the government expects to launch and the processes did not appear on procurement website Guatecompras. 

Last week, the CIV announced the dismissal of Lizzette Benítez as director of road conservation council Covial after two and a half months in office and she was replaced by Mónica Cueto.  

“The priority of the leadership of Covial is the implementation of the 2024 road plan and the immediate preparation of the 2025 road plan. This will guarantee not repeating the situation that arose this year due to negligence of previous administrations at the CIV,” the ministry said in a release on October 17 announcing Benítez’s firing.