More than 1 million Argentinians in five provinces to benefit from education and infrastructure projects

The Board of Directors of CAF—development bank of Latin America—approved a US$100-million loan to the Province of Jujuy in order to improve quality of life, and to help increase Argentina’s productivity and competitiveness, as a way to strengthen the Improved Access and Educational Quality Program (Promace), which calls for the construction, school supplies and technological equipment for 103 new educational facilities (pre-school, primary, secondary and rural secondary education) in the 4 provincial regions (Andes, Altiplano, Quebradas and Valles), as well as educational relevance and quality strategies.

The Program will also include implementation of new curricular designs, training teachers and principals, and specific educational equipment by level and modality in order to update basic skills and competencies necessary to meet the demands of current lifestyles and the labor market. The project will benefit more than 260,000 children and teenagers; 31,680 teachers and principals from 1,268 institutions.

“We are very pleased that the first loan to the Province of Jujuy will foster development in a strategic sector such as education, and in one of Argentina’s most vulnerable territories, promoting equity, inclusion and sustainable development through a program focused on training of human capital, and subsequently increasing productivity,” said Luis Carranza, executive president of CAF.

US$300 million for the Federal Regional Infrastructure Program (PFIR)

During the 166th Meeting of the Board, held in Montevideo, Uruguay, a US$300 million loan was also approved for the Federal Regional Infrastructure Program (PFIR), which calls for multi-sector interventions in the provinces of Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Jujuy, Mendoza and Neuquén, which will benefit approximately 800,000 people.

The Program comprises four lines of action: The first, Transport, is aimed at improving traffic conditions through the reconditioning of 130 kilometers of Provincial Route 23 in the Province of Neuquén; the Energy axis calls for increasing generation and transmission capacity by building the Coastline Transformer Station (TS) and the underground 132 kV High Voltage Line (HVL) linking Corrientes Este TS, and the construction of TS Santa Rosa and the 132 kV HVL from Saladas to this new TS, both in the Province of Corrientes.

The third line of action, Water, calls for improving water resources management through environmental sanitation works on the Manzores Creek riverbed in the Province of Entre Ríos, and interventions in the flood control system in the Mendoza metropolitan area, and the construction of a livestock aqueduct in the La Paz Department in Mendoza. Finally, the projects designed for Tourism aim to increase the number of visitors through the rehabilitation of the Quebrada de Humahuaca railway in the Province of Jujuy, a 42-km track reconditioning project, including the purchase of rolling stock and station renovations.

“Improving the economic and social infrastructure of the provinces through needs-based interventions according to geographical distribution and sector segmentation is an example of CAF’s comprehensive action as Argentina’s development partner. In addition, we will promote institutional strengthening of different agencies involved in the implementation,” Carranza added.

The Program will be co-implemented by the Federal Regional Infrastructure Trust Fund, a decentralized body under the Ministry of the Interior, Public Works and Housing, and by the Ministry of Finance.