US$628m multilateral financing approved for Nicaragua’s economic recovery and electrification

 The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have each approved significant financing for Nicaragua, not usually a recipient of such large sums from multilateral financial institutions. CABEI will provide a loan of US$300m for the country’s economic reactivation and social protection, supporting dozens of projects across sectors including infrastructure, housing, and health. Separately, it will provide US$143m for Nicaragua’s sustainable electrification and renewable energy programme, which aims to achieve 99.9% electrification across the country by 2025. Meanwhile, the IMF is providing US$185.3m in emergency financial assistance, half of which is to be managed by UN agencies the World Food Programme (WFP) and Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for the purposes of transparent use of the funds. 

The Nicaraguan Government says it expects a loss of US$5.4bn over the next three years as a result of the pandemic, which has compounded the impact of the country’s 2018 political crisis as well as the damage caused by tropical storms Eta and Iota. The nation is said to have experienced damages worth over US$740m, 6.2% of Nicaragua’s GDP, as a result of the storms including US$12.5m in damages to health facilities; US$41m in damages to education facilities; US$126.52m in damages to housing; and US$351 in damages to roads and infrastructure. The Inter-American Development Bank has pledged US$1.7bn for the region’s recovery.