CAF to Provide Non-Reimbursable Technical Cooperation to Improve Bolivia's Electricity, Solid Waste Management and Urban Transport Sectors

(Sucre, August 8,2013).CAF-Development Bank of Latin America- Executive President Enrique García and the Bolivian government recently signed three non-reimbursable technical cooperation agreements through which the multilateral financial institution will provide resources to help manage solid waste in Santa Cruz, strengthen the national electricity sector and help modernize urban transportation systems in various cities throughout the country. 

The agreements were signed at a ceremony that took place at the Chuquisaca Department that saw the attendance of President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Evo Morales, Chuquisaca Governor Esteban Urquizu and several Ministers of State.

These resources, according to García, are designed to support three areas of importance for Bolivia: the electricity sector, environmental management and urban transportation. "The objective of CAF's support is to strengthen governance in areas that directly impact the quality of life of the Bolivian population." 

Electricity, Solid Waste and Urban Transportation 

The first operation to be financed with non-reimbursable resources will carry out under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons and will be broken down into three projects. A first project will arrange a feasibility study to determine the likelihood of interconnecting Bolivian power grids with those in neighboring countries and will see financial support from the European Union's Latin American Investment Facility (LAIF) on which CAF and German development bank KfW have relied in the past for various projects. A second stage will work to identify the economic feasibility of developing hydroelectric power sources through an inter-institutional agreement between CAF and the OPEC Fund for International Development. A third stage will focus on strengthening the institutionalism of the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons through studies carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Development and Planning. 

The second operation, called the Final Design Studies (TESA) for the Integrated Solid Waste Management for the Metropolitan Area of the Department of Santa Cruz,  aims to improve solid waste management in urban areas and will receive resources to fund studies that will identify future needs and demand forecasts in various municipalities based on regional growth projections. The resources will be disbursed by the Environment Ministry and will be managed by the Santa Cruz municipal government. 

The third operation will provide technical and institutional support to cities working to improve urban transportation systems by leveraging best practices championed by CAF in other countries. This framework aims to strengthen the Urban Transportation Program by hiring specialists  and providing training programs to identify ways to improve urban transportation.