IDB approves $1 billion credit line for Ecuador’s road network

A first loan for $350 million to finance investments in key bridge, maintenance work, road safety

The program supports the Ecuadorian government’s medium- and long-term strategy to expand, upgrade and maintain the national road network, a key infrastructure for competitiveness, economic and social inclusion and regional integration.

The IDB’s Board of Executive Directors authorized a first loan totaling $350 million under the credit line. Part of these resources will finance the construction of an additional bridge over the Babahoyo River, alleviating a bottleneck in the road linking the port city of Guayaquil and the Durán canton.

The loan will also help cover road maintenance contracts by levels of service, preventing premature deterioration and containing the costs of refurbishing some 810 kilometers of paved roadways, including the E40 route linking Salinas, Santa Elena and Guayaquil.

The IDB will support the design and implementation of measures to increase road safety (horizontal and vertical signage, guardrails, etc.) along specific stretches of the road network.

Additionally, the loan will finance technical studies for road maintenance work as well as for future infrastructure projects to be financed using the line of credit. It will also cover the costs of external audits of the program.

These investments are expected to reduce transportation costs and travel time, improve road safety conditions and preserve infrastructure on key corridors of Ecuador’s road network. It will also strengthen the Ministry of Transportation and Public Work’s capacity for planning and managing infrastructure investments.

The first loan of the line of credit is for 25 years, with a six-year grace period and a LIBOR-based variable interest rate. Ecuadorian counterpart resources will total $16.5 million for this initial phase of the program.| BID