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CABEI and Korea will finance pre-feasibility studies for the Freight Rail Project in Guatemala for an amount of US$466,900

CABEI and the Knowledge Sharing Program of the Republic of Korea (KSP) through the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) confirm their support to the Government of Guatemala and FEGUA, for the elaboration of the technical studies of the railway project.

Guatemala City, January 14, 2021.-The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Knowledge Exchange Program of the Republic of Korea (KSP) together with Ferrocarriles de Guatemala (FEGUA, Guatemala Railways in English), agreed to carry out the pre-feasibility studies of the project called "Guatemalan Segment of Railway Connection in Central America" for an amount of US$466,900.

The studies of this regional project will be financed by the Republic of Korea through a non-reimbursable technical cooperation of US$466,900 granted by the Korea Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) KSP Program, and executed through the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) with the active support of CABEI and FEGUA.

CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, highlighted that "Undoubtedly, the adhesion of the Republic of Korea as an extra-regional partner of CABEI is yielding benefits to the region by providing new cooperation schemes; as an example of this, the first studies that will define the technical feasibility of this important railway project for Central America will be implemented in Guatemala".

The pre-feasibility analysis will provide information on the current conditions of the railway infrastructure in Guatemala and its connection with Central America, the current and future demand for cargo transportation and the legal issues related to the project at the national and regional level. This regional initiative also plans to develop actions to build the capacity of Guatemalan institutions linked to the issue of cargo transport, according to the experience of the Republic of Korea in the development of this type of project.

In addition, Dr. Mossi stressed that "this project represents the first regional initiative selected by Korea's Knowledge Sharing Program with CABEI, and seeks to contribute to the inclusive socioeconomic development of the countries in the region, in addition to promoting strong and close economic cooperation between the parties”.