Project to improve quality of life of 200,000 people living along target corridor
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $122 million loan to Bolivia to expand and upgrade the Montero-Yapacaní segment of the Santa Cruz-Cochabamba Highway, a 69.7 kilometer stretch of the crucial East-West Corridor.
There are an estimated 200,000 people who will benefit directly from the construction of the highway from Montero to Yapacaní. These include producers living between Santa Cruz and Cochabamba who transport their goods by road. This segment is in the department of Santa Cruz and passes through the municipalities of Montero, Portachuelo, Buena Vista, San Carlos and Yapacaní.
The expansion of the Montero-Yapacaní segment of the East-West corridor into a four-lane highway has been declared a national priority given its high traffic volume of close to 9,000 vehicles daily. More than 20 percent are trucks transporting agricultural products such as soy, cassava, corn, sugarcane and rice. The project will incorporate improved safety standards as well as provide bypasses around the more densely populated municipalities.
“Due to geographical and other factors, Bolivia depends on road transportation for most of its foreign trade,” said René Cortés, the IDB’s project team leader. “The East-West Corridor is Bolivia's most heavily traveled road and carries the bulk of the country’s freight. It links the country's most important cities with Chile and Peru to the west and with Brazil to the east.”
The project is expected to improve service ability and access for the segment, reduce travel times by nearly a third and accidents by 15 percent by 2017. The main components of the project include civil works, road safety, technical and environmental supervision, social viability and project administration.
About 4,800 kilometers of Bolivia’s roads are paved, out of a total of 74,831 kilometers.
The IDB financing consists of a $97.6 million 30-year loan from the Bank’s ordinary capital with a six-year grace period and a fixed interest rate. An additional $24.4 million is from the concessional Fund for Special Operations for a 40-year term, with a 40-year grace period and a 0.25 percent interest.