Gorgas Memorial Institute receives a US $ 70 million loan to improve facilities and equipment

Panama, January 29, 2018.- The Executive President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Dr. Nick Rischbieth, and the Minister of Economy and Finance of Panama (MEF), Dulcidio De La Guardia, signed a loan agreement today for US $ 70 million to finance the project: "Design, Construction and Equipment of the new facilities of the Gorgas Commemorative Institute of Health Studies (ICGES), Phase I."

"We are supporting initiatives that contribute to improve and open new spaces for innovation and offer better opportunities, so today we help support this institution, which has stood out for promoting research and contributing to teaching," said the President of CABEI, Dr. Nick Rischbieth.

For his part, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Dulcidio De La Guardia, said that the improvement of the facilities and equipment of the Gorgas Memorial Institute will contribute to this prestigious institution continuing to make important contributions to public health, as it has done since its creation in 1921.

The project includes the design, construction and partial equipping of the new ICGES campus, which will be developed in two phases, with a total cost of US $ 200 million, and will consist of seven buildings.

With these resources, CABEI expects to directly support Central America and the Dominican Republic's Health Plan, thereby enabling the realization of a greater number of scientific investigations aimed at improving the prevention and treatment of diseases.

The institute will be able to expand its human and technical resources, which will allow developing and disposing of more directly honed diagnostic methods to prevent and control epidemic outbreaks. It is estimated that 2,026 direct jobs will be generated during the execution phase.

Panama is a member state of CABEI since November 28, 2006 and is listed as a Non-Founder Regional Partner after an increase in share capital in 2016. Since its foundation at the end of December 2017, CABEI has approved 19 fundings for projects in Panama that seek to improve the quality of life of the country's inhabitants.