Nicaragua agrees $282 million loan deals with China
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Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized the signing of two loans totaling $282 million with Chinese companies aimed at boosting infrastructure development and enhancing the country’s emergency response capacity.
The first loan, amounting to $248.6 million, will be signed with CSCEC International Construction Co., Ltd. The funding will be allocated to the Pacific Coastal Highway Construction, Phase 11 project, a road development initiative in the Pacific region of the country. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will be in charge of carrying out and implementing the project.
The second agreement, valued at $33.4 million, will be signed with CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. and is intended to finance Nicaragua’s National Emergency Response System. This project aims to strengthen the country’s capacity to face and manage natural disasters.
Through two presidential agreements published in the Official Gazette, Ortega has delegated powers to the capital markets advisor of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, Carlos José Selva Hernández, to formalize these agreements on behalf of the Nicaraguan executive.
The recent approval of these loans adds to the $567.17 million already lent by China to Nicaragua in the last six months for four projects, raising the total Chinese financing in the country to $849.17 million.
One of the most notable projects includes a $399.6 million investment to upgrade the Punta Huete international airport, a former military base that will be converted into a modern airport facility over the next four years.
In December 2023, President Ortega highlighted the importance of strengthening diplomatic relations between China and Nicaragua, calling it “the best Christmas gift” and “great news.” This “strategic partnership” agreement was formalized following a phone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ortega on December 19, 2023.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries, initially established in 1985 during the first Sandinista government, were reestablished in December 2021 after a period of relations with Taiwan which began in 1990.
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