CAF grants funds to Ecuador for rehabilitation of road integration corridor

A loan agreement for US$25 million was signed today between the Republic of Ecuador and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), under which the multilateral financial institution will partially finance the rehabilitation of the Baeza-Tena Highway in the northeast of Ecuador.

The CAF executive president, Enrique García, who signed the agreement with the Ecuadorian Ministers of Economy and Finance, Carlos Julio Emanuel, and Public Works and Communications, José Macchiavello, said the loan operation would recover an important section of the highway that connects the city of Quito with the Amazon region and the southeast of the country, which was severely affected by landslides caused by torrential rains during the year.

The rehabilitation of the Baeza-Tena Highway has special strategic priority in the country's short-term development plans. The project will deepen the economic integration of a region that is an important producer of food and other products. The highway also forms part of an international road corridor that will connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by bimodal transport through the ports of Esmeraldas, Puerto Curacay, Río Amazonas and Manaos in Brazil. The work will also facilitate the construction of the heavy-crude pipeline now in progress in this area of Ecuador.

The rehabilitation of the 82-kilometer Baeza-Tena Highway includes the construction and rehabilitation of the drainage system, paving of roadway, construction and maintenance of 17 bridges and signposting. The works will take place over a period of 18 months.

The project will also bring socio-economic benefits to the highway’s area of influence by contributing to the formation of external economies. To protect the environment, the project includes a series of improvements designed to mitigate risks and conserve the region’s rich ecosystems.