Injunctions hold up US$45mn hwy. works

Bolivian judicial authorities have frozen US$44.8mn in funds from multilateral lending agencies paralyzing works on 40 highway projects due to injunctions laid by construction companies against the national highway commission (SNC), La Prensa reported. Judges in the La Paz and Santa Cruz districts ordered the government treasury to freeze the funds from the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank (WB), due to injunctions laid by construction companies which are calling for more money to be disbursed. The SNC currently faces 10 injunctions filed by construction companies working on highways between 1997 and 2001. The paralyzed works affect 5,000 jobs.