The European Union and CABEI inaugurate a project to improve access routes in Pueblo Nuevo, Department of Estelí, Nicaragua

Nicaragua, May 15, 2008

The project will help improve living conditions for the residents of the Bryon Jiménez, Saúl Tercero, and Rigoberto López Pérez neighborhoods by strengthening road infrastructure with 8,753.54 square meters of roads and 1,419.05 lineal meters of curbs and gutters. On May 13, 2008 The European Union and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) inaugurated a project in the city of Pueblo Nuevo, Department of Estelí entitled “Improvement of Access Routes in the neighborhoods of Bryon Jiménez, Saúl Tercero, and Rigoberto López Pérez”. The project’s aim was to improve road infrastructure conditions to directly benefit its 3,441 residents. The total cost of the project is US$411,660 and was realized thanks to the economic support of the EU, CABEI, and the municipality of Pueblo Nuevo. The EU and CABEI covered US$316,700, with the municipal government covering the remaining US$94,960. This project came as a result of a formal request from Pueblo Nuevo, which emphasized the need of improving road infrastructure for its residents. Previously, roads in the aforementioned neighborhoods were in extremely poor condition because they lack the ability to drain sewage and rain water. That constituted a health problem for residents because outdoor water collections, such as roadside puddles, breed mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue. Likewise, puddles create a stench and help spread respiratory diseases. Poor road infrastructure also created impediments to the transport of goods and services to the other parts of town. The project consisted in the construction of 8,753.54 square meters of streets and 1,419.05 lineal meters of curbs and gutters. This project will contribute to improved living conditions by achieving the following: a progress in road infrastructure, a reduction in the transport cost of goods and services for the municipality, a more attractive and cleaner appearance, a positive impact on the environment and residents within the area, a creation of local employment, an improvement of road security conditions, and a reduction of diseases that originate from poor road conditions. This work falls under the framework of the Central American Border Zone Development Program (Spanish acronym ZONAF), an anti-poverty program jointly financed by the EU and CABEI. About the EU and CABEI’s Central American Border Zone Development Program (ZONAF) ZONAF has two components: 1) Integral Development of Border Municipalities and the 2) Regional Program for the Management of Multinational Watersheds. ZONAF favors border projects aimed at improving access to the basic services of education, health care, and infrastructure, and the protection, conservation, and rational use of natural resources (especially water) with a focus on gender and ethnic groups. The program also allows for the financing of inter-municipal programs. View Images