US$92 million for two infrastructure operations in Ecuador

Two agreements for loans totaling US$92 million were signed today in Caracas by the Ecuadorian ambassador in Venezuela, Paulina García Donoso de Larrea, for the Republic of Ecuador and the executive president of the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), Enrique García.

García said the first operation for US$67 million provides partial financing for the Public Transport Plan of the city of Guayaquil, which forms part of the Mass Urban Transport Rationalization Plan, designed to solve the problem of congestion in the city’s passenger transport. The Plan will favor 85% of the city’s inhabitants who do not own a car.

The second agreement for US$25 million finances the Infrastructure Works Project on the Santa Elena Peninsula, specifically the rain drainage system in the cities of Salinas, La Libertad and Muey.

Financing for transport

The total cost of the Guayaquil Public Transport Plan is US$104 million of which the CAF loan covers 64%, with the rest being contributed by the Guayaquil City Government, which is responsible for the execution of the Urban Public Transport Plan.

As the country's main port, Guayaquil needs an efficient public transport system that reduces the travel time of an estimated 440,000 users a day by means of exclusive lanes, level loading and unloading, reliable timetables and frequencies that allow passengers to plan their movements efficiently.

The project will cut the operating costs of buses, which will be able to travel at constant speeds with designated stops, guarantee efficient use of passenger capacity, and appreciably reduce the transport/user cost of passengers who will need to use only one unit to reach their destination. This strengthening and modernization of the passenger transport fleet is also expected to significantly decrease the number of traffic accidents and pollution.

Infrastructure for Santa Elena

The purpose of the Santa Elena project is to develop a set of investments to supply the cities of Salinas, La Libertad and Muey on the Santa Elena Peninsula in Guayas province, with a potable water storage system and sewage treatment services.

The CAF will finance the rain drainage system in these cities, which requires the construction of a set of works such as streets, drains, channels and pumping stations to remove rainwater from the area.