Honduras Approved for US$101.68 Million Highway Rehabilitation Loan
en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 6, the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a US$101.68 million specific investment loan to Honduras for the rehabilitation of highway infrastructure in the northwest, including the repair, improvement and maintenance of 48 km of the National Highway 20 (RN-20) between Pito Solo and Santa Bárbara, as well as the upgrading of rural roads in agricultural production areas. The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of Honduras, and the loan funds will also be used to strengthen the ministry's capacity in highway planning, construction management and maintenance.
RN-20 is the main road section supported by this financing. The project will carry out repair, improvement and maintenance of the 48 km road between Pito Solo and Santa Bárbara, and simultaneously upgrade rural roads connecting agricultural production areas. The roads will strengthen links between local agricultural production areas and national and regional logistics corridors, enabling agricultural goods to be transported more smoothly to Honduras' main port, Puerto Cortés, and connect with seaborne export markets.
In addition to the physical road works, the project also includes an institutional capacity-building component, focusing on strengthening the technical capacity of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of Honduras in highway project planning, prioritization, project implementation and long-term maintenance, and improving highway asset management and investment project implementation mechanisms.
According to data published by the Inter-American Development Bank, the RN-20 and rural road upgrades are expected to directly benefit approximately 63,300 people, including agricultural producers, transport operators and related enterprises in the value chain; another approximately 32,630 people within two kilometers of the construction areas may benefit indirectly, bringing the total number of direct and indirect beneficiaries to approximately 95,900.
The US$101.68 million loan consists of two parts: US$61.008 million from the IDB's ordinary capital, with a repayment period of 20.5 years, a grace period of 9 years, and an interest rate linked to SOFR; and US$40.762 million from concessional ordinary capital, with both a repayment period and grace period of 40 years, at an interest rate of 0.25%. The project is part of the IDB Group's regional program "América en el Centro," which covers Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic and focuses on supporting regional infrastructure connectivity and economic integration.
