Honduran govt must facilitate payments to contractors, says construction chamber

The Honduran construction chamber (Chico) said that the country’s building industry has been affected by government debts to contractors that amount to around 11bn lempiras (US$426mn) and the authorities must resolve the situation.  

By December, some 2.4bn lempiras had been approved for infrastructure developments in 2024, but the finance ministry’s (Sefin) failings in allocating funds have meant that contractors have not received payments, a situation that has affected the progress of works, the chamber said. Chico did not mention any specific projects or companies affected.

This is not the first time that the construction sector has complained about the lack of payments from authorities. 

In 2023, close to 12.4bn lempiras were assigned to the construction sector but were not allocated. The chamber said this provoked a crisis for the construction sector that could be repeated should authorities fail to facilitate the payments.

Chico requested that 11bn lempiras in national funds be allocated to the construction sector in 2025 in order to cover all debts and allow priority projects to be continued, and it called on President Xiomara Castro’s administration to order the Sefin to resolve the payment issues. 

Having strategic infrastructure planning in 2025 is essential to guarantee the continuation of the projects that are necessary for the development of the country, the chamber said.