Credit for ''Los Trillizos'' Bridge

(La Paz, August 31, 2006). - CAF’s Executive President Enrique García announced, at a meeting with the Mayor of La Paz, Juan del Granado, the approval of a loan for US$13,669,082.94 for the building of a "Los Trillizos" Bridge, which will make it possible to improve the city’s urban development and the quality of life of its inhabitants.

President García pointed out that the CAF supports high-impact regional urban development initiatives that contribute to meeting the needs of the community and guarantee citizens’ integration and participation in planning and sustainable human development.

The aims of the project for the construction of the "Los Trillizos" Bridge for La Paz are to permit the interconnection of the roads making up the only road axis running the length of the city and to provide cross access between them, so forming a new trunk road running from east to southeast, which will become a second beltway. Not only will this cut travel time, vehicle running costs and environmental pollution, it will also reduce traffic congestion in the central and Miraflores areas of the city.

La Paz is located in a canyon, where the terrain is extremely rugged, and this poses restrictions on expanding to the north and to the south. The city’s population is growing at an average rate of around 2% a year, on average, and its automobile park has increased by an average of 5% over the past five years in a situation where the road infrastructure that has evolved in a somewhat haphazard fashion, restricted by the topography of the area.

The building of the "Los Trillizos" Bridges will not only provide a modern infrastructure for this rapidly growing city, but will also open up paths to sustainable urban develop for its inhabitants.