CEDEGE investment program receives US$22 million

A US$22 million loan was today granted to the Republic of Ecuador to partially finance the Investment Program, being executed by the Commission for Studies for Development of the Guayas River Basin (CEDEGE).

The agreement was signed in CAF headquarters in Caracas by CAF President & CEO Enrique García, and Ecuadorian Finance Minister Marco Flores, who participated in a meeting of the CAF Board.

García said the loan operation was part of the CAF priority policy of supporting provision of productive and physical infrastructure in its shareholder countries – notable in the areas of roads, energy and communications – aimed at achieving the sustainable development of the peoples in its three aspects: economic growth, improvement of living conditions and environmental preservation.

He added that the funds would finance two components of the CEDEGE Investment Program: US$10 million to contribute to financing supplementary works of the Daule-Santa Elena water transfer, and US$12 million to finance part of the project for Flood Control and Drainage Improvements of the Lower Guayas Basin, considered high priority at this time because of the emergencies in this area caused by the El Niño meteorological phenomenon.

CEDEGE is a public institution with legal status, its own capital and administrative autonomy, set up in 1965 to carry out research, studies, works and execute programs and projects required for the integrated development of the Guayas River basin and the Santa Elena Peninsula.

In this respect, CEDEGE has been executing the Jaime Roldós Aguilera Multipurpose Project, which includes various engineering works in which CAF has been participating since 1991 through a series of loans for a total of US$188 million.

These include the Daule-Peripa hydroelectric plant, in whose construction CAF participated with an initial loan of US$76.8 billion, later followed by US$62.5 million; and today – in the CAF Board meeting – a further US$49.1 million was approved to partially finance the final stage of this project.

CAF has also granted funds for the Daule- Santa Elena Peninsula Water Transfer Project (US$55.3 million) and is now evaluating financial support of US$166 million for two projects: one to control flooding in the Lower Guayas Basin, and a drinking water project for Santa Elena. All these projects have a high economic impact for Ecuador because they have supplied drinking and irrigation water to various cities and localities, with the resulting benefits for development of agricultural export projects, support for fisheries, industrial and tourism activities in these areas, and improvement of the quality of life of the population in general.