Honduras to request CAF loan to finish highway project

The Honduras government is planning to ask Latin American development bank CAF for a loan to finish widening a stretch of highway CA-13, called the “touristic corridor.” 

The project involves converting the highway that runs from Cortés department to Colón department from two to four lanes. Construction works are expected to start in the next few months, daily La Prensa reported.

The first stage – a 218km stretch from Cortés department to La Ceiba municipality in Atlántida department – will be financed by a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei). 

However, to continue the works from there to Castilla port in Colón department more than US$200mn will be required. According to infrastructure and transport minister Octavio Pineda, the government plans to request financing from CAF and use some of the funds provided by the Spanish government to build hospitals. 

“It’s a loan that we’re seeking with CAF and Spain to carry on with the touristic corridor in the municipality of Jutiapa in Atlántida to Trujillo. The idea is to connect it with Castilla port,” the official was quoted as saying in the report.

Pineda added that US$150mn would be requested from CAF and another US$75mn would come from funds that the Spanish government offered to Honduras for healthcare infrastructure projects.