Guatemala to revamp Northern Road Corridor

By Mayora IP

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $175 million loan to widen approximately 35 kilometers of the El Rancho–Teculután section of northern Highway CA-9 in Guatemala. "The program is a strategic and crucial step towards expanding the country’s main route for exports, a process already in progress," according to the IDB.

By widening the road, Guatemala can boost the competitiveness of value chains with high potential for job creation and bolster the country’s exports.

Highway CA-9 is the main artery connecting the center of the country with the rest of the world. It provides access to the borders with El Salvador and Honduras and also connects the country’s industrial areas with the ports of Santo Tomas de Castilla and Puerto Barrios in the Atlantic, linking Guatemala to U.S. and European markets.

Guatemala has the highest logistical costs in Central America, and it faces the challenge of improving the quality of the roads that move almost all of its exports. Foreign trade contributes 41% of Guatemala’s GDP, and the road construction work will allow to expand its agribusiness exports, which in 2020 made up 72.1% of total exports in terms of its balance of trade.