On December 1, a ceremony was held in San Miguel City in the eastern part of the Republic of El Salvador to mark the opening of a highway that JICA supported through its yen loan “San Miguel City Bypass Construction Project.
The ceremony was attended by more than 200 government and business officials and local residents, including President Bucure and Minister of Public Works and Transportation Rodriguez from El Salvador, and Ambassador Hoshino of Japan and JICA El Salvador Office Director Meirai from Japan.
Ribbon-cutting ceremony
El Salvador’s development in the eastern part of the country has been slow due to the damage caused by the civil war and other factors. In San Miguel, the main city in the east, urbanization has been progressing in recent years, and chronic traffic congestion has hindered the flow of people and logistics, which has been an obstacle to economic development.
This project aims to relieve traffic congestion and increase traffic capacity by widening a portion of National Route 1 that passes through the city of San Miguel, building a new road that bypasses the city, and constructing bridges over two rivers. The total length of the project is approximately 21 kilometers, and the total project cost is 22.8 billion yen (including 18.2 billion yen in yen loans), making it the largest road construction project ever completed in El Salvador.
National Highway 1 is located on the Pan American Highway that crosses El Salvador from east to west and is an important logistics network in the Latin American region, connecting Mexico to Panama. With the completion of the bypass, transit time through downtown San Miguel, which previously took one hour, will be reduced to 20-25 minutes, and 40,000 vehicles per day are expected to use the bypass. Development around the bypass area has already begun, and the project is expected to create new employment opportunities, revitalize the local economy, and improve the lives of local residents.
Completed road
At the opening ceremony, Ambassador Hoshino noted that Japan has long cooperated with El Salvador in a wide range of fields for the country’s development, and expressed his hope that this project will contribute to the development of the eastern region and deepen friendly relations between the two countries. In response, President Bucure thanked the Japanese government for the development cooperation it has provided, especially in the eastern region.
© Source JICA
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