In keeping with one of his main campaign promises, President
Ricardo Maduro has launched a project to extend and rehabilitate
the highway from Puerto Cortes to the Guatemalan border.The
project, which will cost more than Lps. 800 million, includes
the construction of new stretches of highway and the repavement
of existing portions. It will also include the rehabilitation
of drainage systems.
Facilitating road travel between Honduras and Guatemala is
part of the Puebla Panama Plan (PPP), a region-wide initiative
aimed at transforming Central America and the southern states
of Mexico into a magnet for development.
Maduro said the highway will bring significant benefits to
the region and will play a key role in building a better future
for Honduras - one of his main campaign promises.
The presidents of Central America have met 15 times over
the past 16 months, he said, calling it a renewed push forward
towards the integration of Central America.
“By inaugurating this stretch of highway, we’re
not only strengthening the roadway, but also our mission and
our commitment,” said Maduro. “The highway will
directly strengthen tourism, another key axis in the government’s
plan to build a better future for Honduras.”
Meanwhile, the Maduro administration is also working to design
and finance a major highway between the community of Goascorán
in southern Honduras and the central department of Comaygua.
The highway between Puerto Cortes and Guatemala will encourage
economic development in the area by reducing operational and
maintenance costs on vehicles carrying goods between the two
areas. It will also ease and regulate traffic and increase
driver security, while encouraging greater import and export
of manufactured and agro-industrial goods, thereby creating
new investment opportunities and increasing the region’s
economic competitiveness.
It is also expected to increase the flow of tourists, particularly
to destinations like Puerto Cortes, Omoa, Masca, Cuyamel,
Tegucigalpita and Corinto, all in the department of Cortes.
The highway is financed by the Central American Bank of Economic
Integration (CABEI) with funds from Mexico, the Nordic Development
Fund and the Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and
Housing (SOPTRAVI).
The highway is scheduled to be completed within three and
a half years.
