Press Room
 

April 7, 2008
HP-908

Fact Sheet: Latin America Infrastructure Development Program Update

In July 2007, Secretary Paulson announced the creation of an infrastructure development program to increase investment in infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean (http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp482.htm). The United States, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is working to catalyze private investment in infrastructure in Latin America.

The goal of the program is to partner with the private sector to identify, structure and launch sustainable infrastructure projects. The United States, Brazil, the IFC and the Inter-American Development Bank and other partners have contributed a combined $12 million (the U.S. contributed $4.6 million) to date, with additional contributions of at least $8 million envisaged in the next 1-2 years. The contributions will be used to:

  • Help governments and private sector sponsors conduct market, technical, legal, and financial analyses in order to prioritize and design projects for development;
  • Help governments manage transparent and competitive bidding processes.

Results To Date:
  • Twelve projects are signed or under advanced negotiations, with $1.3 million committed from the initiative. The projects are located in Mexico, Brazil, Haiti, Colombia, Jamaica, and St. Lucia.
  • $2.6 billion (estimated) in additional investment will be leveraged across all twelve projects, $450 million of which is greenfield investment.
  • Fiscal savings to local governments from these transactions are estimated at a minimum of $200 million.
  • Number of people expected to receive improved basic services from these transaction are estimated at 500,000.
  • Eight advisory transactions are under execution; additional investment to be leveraged is estimated at $2.3 billion.

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