Huanuni-Bombo-Llallagua road to be officially opened

La Paz, August 16. The Huanuni-Bombo-Llallagua road, which links up the departments of Oruro, Sucre, and Potosí, was completed thanks to funding of USD 18 million granted by CAF –Latin American development bank- and a balancing contribution of USD 7.2 million from the Oruro and Potosí departmental governments. The new road will be officially opened at a ceremony, in which President Evo Morales is to take part, on August 19.

CAF supported this road project as it was needed to connect up two major mining districts where there is currently considerable activity and to facilitate the provision of a rapid, efficient transportation system for the inhabitants of the region.

Emilio Uquillas, CAF’s director in Bolivia, explained that this road, which is nearly 42 kilometers long, will contribute significantly to improving the economic and social structure of the towns and villages in the region, which have high levels of poverty compared to the rest of the country.

This road, which is the second stretch of a highway called the Jaime Mendoza Diagonal Main Route, is of regional, national, and even international importance as it communicates the city of Oruro with major towns in the north of Potosí and from there with the city of Sucre and Hito Villazón (on the border with Paraguay).

Huanuni and Llallagua are mining districts that have made a considerable contribution to the country’s economy for more than a century. Today, Huanuni is the home of a major state-owned mining company where more than 5,000 miners who are dependent on the Corporación Minera de Bolivia (Comibol) operate.