The funding - EIB's first direct loan in Nicaragua - will also help to finance the extension and upgrading of the power distribution grid in the north-east of the country and near the capital Managua, with the aim of increasing the grid's capacity and reliability. A third component of the project is the preparation of studies on new investment in renewable energy.
EIB Vice-President Carlos Costa and Nicaragua's Finance Minister, Alberto Guevara, signed the finance contract at the end of March. At the signing ceremony, Vice-President Costa stressed the importance to the project of the cooperation between three financial institutions, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the EIB, which made it possible to offer Nicaragua a tailored financial package.
The EIB is providing this loan under its current lending mandate for Asia and Latin America (ALA IV). The project meets the mandate's priority objectives of greater energy security and environmental sustainability.
