WASHINGTON, D.C., December 18, 2024 - The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors today approved an operation to construct a new road corridor between the northwestern region of Honduras, from the CA-4 highway near Macuelizo, and Corinto, a municipality close to the country's main port. This new road will improve access to Customs in Corinto and at the Puerto Cortés port, providing an alternative to the San Pedro Sula trade route. The US$187 million project will also make the country's road transport network more resilient, benefiting 194,000 persons and facilitating economic development in the area around the new corridor by creating new sustainable employment and business opportunities.
Recognized as the economic and logistical hub of Honduras, San Pedro Sula is also one of the country's most congested cities. All the roads and highways connecting different regions of Honduras with the Atlantic coast pass through this city, creating bottlenecks that hamper the efficiency of the national transport network, especially during heavy rainfall-a very frequent occurrence in the country.
To address this issue, the Honduras Sustainable Connectivity Project provides for construction of an approximately 46-kilometer long corridor connecting the CA-4 road near Macuelizo to the CA-13 in Corinto, which is close to the border with Guatemala. The corridor will provide a strategic alternative for the transport of goods and boost trade with neighboring countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala.
Under the project, approximately 41 kilometers of roadway in the municipalities of Quimistán, Azacualpa, Nueva Frontera, and Macuelizo will also be paved, an initiative that is in line with the Honduran Government's Municipal Interconnection Roads Program. These roadways, most of which have deteriorated, will be more resilient to climate events, providing increased access to basic services, job opportunities, and businesses.
"On behalf of the Government of President Xiomara Castro, we would like to thank the World Bank for its invaluable support with the Roads Project, which aims to provide safer, more climate-resilient access in northwestern Honduras. This initiative builds on an ambitious public investment portfolio that has expanded significantly since 2022, mainly in the road, energy, health, education, and productivity sectors," said Christian Duarte, Minister of Finance of Honduras.
The improved infrastructure will create favorable conditions for economic development in the corridor and surrounding communities, where between 70 to 90 percent of the population lives in poverty. Connectivity between municipalities and increased traffic will open up more access to services and economic opportunities for residents in the project area.
The project also includes a component for managing landscapes around the corridor that will foster the development of sustainable activities as well as activities that support biodiversity conservation, focusing in particular on those initiated by women. The region is rich in biodiversity thanks to its proximity to key nature reserves such as Cusuco National Park, home to 966 species, 38 percent of which are endemic to Mesoamerica. Other project activities include promoting the restoration of forests and degraded landscapes, as well as community-based ecotourism initiatives and women's entrepreneurship, contributing to the preservation of the region's environment.
According to Kinnon Scott, the World Bank's Resident Representative in Honduras, "Honduras is facing significant challenges caused by extreme weather events, so a resilient road network that strengthens connectivity and increases trade is of critical importance. The new corridor will foster integrated territorial development, which will boost economic development in the region and create job opportunities and access to basic services, improving the quality of life of the people in the project area."
