The Ministry of Finance pointed out that there is a credit approved by the IDB for $27 million, which is part of a $300 million fund destined to attend to natural disasters in El Salvador, and that it will be added to the funds already destined for these situations.
The Economic Cabinet of the Government of El Salvador announced this Wednesday a series of investments that will be made for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructure and attention to the damage left by storm Julia’s passage through Salvadoran territory.
The Minister of Finance, Alejandro Zelaya, explained that El Salvador has a fund of $27 million approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and that it is part of a total of $300 million that has been allocated to attend to this type of emergency. This $27 million has already been endorsed by the Legislative Assembly for their use.
Zelaya explained that there is also another $500,000 donated by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) for the attention of storm Julia, in addition to another $500,000 that was left over from a donation for the attention of emergencies derived from storm Bonnie in The Savior.
“The country has contingency mechanisms. The IDB has approved $27 million to address the effects, especially in terms of infrastructure. Of CABEI’s donation, which is around one million dollars, $500,000 was earmarked for damage caused by Bonnie, and another half million has been earmarked for Julia. CAF allocated $150,000 for humanitarian aid in the country. In the case of the IDB, a donation of $400,000 was authorized, plus the approval of the contingent use of $27 million for the damages », he detailed.
Zelaya explained that “for this year, $9 million will be allocated to agriculture, while around $8 million will be allocated to housing,” in addition to the delivery of food packages for families who were sheltered due to the storms. The agriculture fund will be used for crop restitution, the delivery of improved seed packages, and the purchase of production supplies.
In the case of tourism, $500,000 will be allocated to attend to various effects, while in the economic area, $10 million will be made available for productive credits for companies affected by the rains left by storm Julia.
“For the economic sector, we have made available $10 million in productive credits for all those who were affected by tropical storm Julia. We are going to invest around $70 million in infrastructure. In total, there is $98.2 million to invest this year “, he highlighted.
In the case of credits, Zelaya explained that state bank users can request their respective executives to be beneficiaries of this initiative and reported that, at the request of the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, the postponement of payments has been requested. Producers who have been impacted by Hurricane Julia must work for three months.
“As of today, it is available for affected companies to apply to the financing fund. These funds will be delivered as credits. We are sure that, as well as other measures we have taken previously, they will help our companies to get back on their feet”, highlighted María Lusa Hayem, Minister of Economy.
For his part, Enrique Parada, Minister of Agriculture, reported that 500 heads of cattle and goats would be restored. In addition, more than 100,000 animals will be vaccinated. Also, he pointed out that they will recover 384 manzanas where fruit is grown, along with another 31,250 manzanas of beans.
Finally, Romeo Rodríguez, Minister of Public Works, explained that, together with the Road Conservation Fund (Fovial), they worked “on more than 7,000 kilometers of highway with pruning and cleaning of gutters and drains to mitigate risks in the national territory.” .
«During tropical storm Julia, we were activated and attended to 1,135 emergencies; 346 landslides, 173 fallen trees, 80 interventions in electrical infrastructure and drinking water, 24 bridges damaged, and 3 completely collapsed. According to the report that we have compiled on infrastructure damage caused by tropical storm Julia, there is $89.4 million in damage that we have quantified. This includes the reconstruction and improvement of infrastructures”, he explained.