Close to 100,000 university students in nine Guatemalan departments strengthen their educational capacities with CABEI support

16/06/2021

Through the financing of the second stage of USAC's investment, new buildings were constructed, infrastructure was upgraded, and furniture, equipment and technology were acquired in different university centers throughout the country.

Guatemala City, June 16, 2021.-  The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) completed the execution of the second stage of the Infrastructure, Machinery and Equipment Investment Program for the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) with the objective of contributing to the generation of inclusive, quality education and promoting learning opportunities for close to 100,000 Guatemalan students.

CABEI's impact evaluation process confirms that this program has strengthened 37 educational centers nationwide, of which 6 have positively benefited 156 municipalities in 9 of the country's departments, whose buildings are close to areas of extreme poverty.  

"Access to education is one of the aspects with the greatest impact on the wellbeing of the population, and we are very pleased with the results achieved with this second stage of investment, favoring 112 communities and towns neighboring the educational centers, where more than half of the university students benefited are women. We hope that the results of this program will continue and be sustainable for the benefit of our future generations," commented CABEI Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi.

As part of the results of this program, more than 207 thousand square meters of educational and sports facilities have been built, representing 42 new infrastructure projects and 13 refurbishment projects. In addition, investments were made in the purchase of furniture and various modern technology equipment and machinery for 14 faculties and 10 regional university centers.

In addition, 647 temporary jobs were generated during the infrastructure construction stage, and 6,234 jobs were retained during operation, 41% of which were occupied by women.

Stage 2 of this program received US$33.6 million from CABEI and US$33.7 million from the Government of Guatemala. In response to the growth of the student population and advances in science and technology that require more and better educational centers, in 2015 CABEI approved US$120 million to implement the third investment stage of this program, which is expected to benefit 150,000 USAC students.

This financing is in the process of being approved in its third debate by the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala.

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