LatinNews Daily - 20 February 2025

*El Salvador’s 60-member unicameral legislature, which is controlled by President Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas (NI), has approved a US$113.9m loan from the Central American Development Bank (BCIE) to finance the government’s ‘Surf City’ tourism development in La Libertad department. The funds will be used for Phase 1 of the initiative which will improve road and tourism infrastructure on the Pacific coast. According to BCIE the programme will widen the second section of highway CA02 to four lanes and improve 8.67km of road infrastructure, and pedestrian and bicycle networks in the municipalities of La Libertad and Tamanique (La Libertad department). It adds that the funds will also be used for the construction of an interchange in Acajutla municipality (Sonsonate department) and Sonsonate Oeste (Sonsonate) and installation of wastewater treatment plants in El Palmarcito (La Libertad).