$55-million operation approved for Bolivia

The CAF today approved an operation for $55 million for Bolivia destined to finance the peri-urban and rural infrastructure, gas and social protection program at a total cost of $70 million. The CAF loan, which has a 15-year term with three years´ grace, covers 80% of the total. The executing agency is the Ministry of Economic Development.

CAF Executive President Enrique García and Bolivian Economic Development Minister Javier Nogales signed the agreement in the CAF headquarters in Caracas.

García said that the program is an emergency mechanism which is designed to have an immediate effect through execution of projects with a high impact on the generation of jobs and income in regions with a high-risk peri-urban and rural population, especially in El Alto and La Paz. Priority will be given to works that encourage strategic alliances between government, companies and organized civil society. The purpose of the program is to improve the living conditions of the marginal sectors, he added.

With the application of the program, the government aims to consolidate policies with a view to recovering fiscal sustainability in the medium term, and facilitating appropriate development of the process of achieving gas production and export.

The program is structured into three components. The first covers peri-urban and rural infrastructure, consisting of a set of public and social investment projects in the areas of basic sanitation; housing improvement; urban infrastructure; health and education; and border, culture and tourism infrastructure.

The second component relates to the development of gas resources, which requires an estimated $5 million for actions, studies and projects to find the most appropriate application of Bolivian hydrocarbons for internal use and export.

The third component receives $20 million for social protection to strengthen reforms to guarantee the social capital of the poorest sectors in relation to education, health, sanitation, land titles, and support for production.