The Central American Bank for Economic Integration ( CABEI ) estimates that this year it will disburse between 400 to 500 million dollars to Panama, a country that has approved more than 1.16 billion dollars for water, infrastructure, health and research projects.

"I would expect that Panama would easily disburse some 400 - 500 million dollars" this year, "between budget support projects, resources towards infrastructure projects and towards resources from the financial sector, which are private," said the president of CABEI, Dante Mossi, this Friday in a virtual conference.

The president of the financial institution, founded in 1960, indicated that "only with the projects approved in 2020 it is expected to positively impact more than 613,000 people through different social programs, the development of five emergency care initiatives, as well as the generation of jobs.

CABEI disbursed to Panama loans for the public sector for a total of 400 million dollars in 2020, according to data from the institution, to which this country became a member in 2006.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Among the financing approved to Panama is that of 450 million dollars for the Corredor de las Playas section one project, which has suffered delays and design changes that have not affected the bank's willingness to support, which will adjust the amount to what will finally be be carried out, said CABEI.

In the first semester of this year, non-reimbursable technical cooperations were approved for a total of 3.6 million dollars, including one for 630,000 dollars for the feasibility studies of Line 5 of the Panama Metro.

The CABEI country manager, Carlos Moreno, indicated this Thursday that the resources were approved "under the CABEI-Korea single donor fund", and that with the beginning of the negotiations "there would be some possibility that Line 5" would begin to build before the end of this decade, as planned.

"We are very optimistic that this project could be advanced in an important way, obviously this is a decision of the authorities," said Moreno, who specified that Line 5 would begin in a sector of the capital's promenade, it would cross the banking area and it would end connecting with line 2.

Panama is the only country in Central America with a metro system. Lines 1 and 2 are operational, in charge of the consortium made up of Odebrecht and FCC with a global cost of about 4.3 billion dollars, while line 3 is built by the Korean consortium HPH Joint Venture with an investment of at least 2.8 billion dollars. Dollars.

In 2016, the Panama Metro reported that it was projected that 8 lines of the system would be operational by 2040.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY AFTER COVID-19

CABEI approved Panama a financing of 250 million dollars in a Development Policies Operation in Response to the Pandemic and Recovery of Growth in Panama, which has already been fully disbursed.

This operation is intended to financially support the country to face the economic crisis generated by the covid-19 pandemic and support the country's recovery, through the "protection of human capital and strengthening of institutions."

It is intended to promote an inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic recovery, Moreno said.

"We have to work to get out of the health crisis and move towards economic reactivation (...) CABEI has been committed to Panama," said Mossi.

The president of CABEI commented that 2020 was "a record year" for the financial institution, since "new credits were given for more than 3,600 million dollars" to the entire region and "nearly 2,000 million dollars were disbursed" precisely because of the emergency. caused by the pandemic.

SOURCE: EFE