El Salvador Compact

Compact Closeout

A “New Northern Zone” with Greater Opportunities for Salvadoran Dairy Farmers

MCC helped build or improve more than 220 kilometers of roads and 23 bridges in the Northern Zone, helping link El Salvador's poorest region with the rest of the country and creating opportunities for its residents.

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Building a Prosperous Future, One Kilometer at a Time

Elsa Bolaños, a resident of El Salvador's Northern Zone, put her decades of experience in civil engineering to work on building a section of the Northern Transnational Highway.

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El Salvador’s Commitment to Transparency, Accountability and Country Ownership

FOMILENIO, which implemented MCC’s compact with El Salvador, demonstrated a commitment to country ownership, a focus on results and transparency—core principles essential for development to be effective.

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In November 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $461 million compact with the Government of El Salvador to improve the lives of Salvadorans through strategic investments in education, public services, agricultural production, rural business development, and transportation infrastructure. The largest of the compact’s components, the transportation project, intends to physically unify El Salvador’s Northern Zone with the rest of the country, and to enable new economic opportunities for rural households, lower transportation costs, and decrease travel times to markets. The compact in El Salvador entered into force (EIF) in September 2007, initiating the five-year timeline for project implementation.

For the most up-to-date information on implementation progress, please read the Quarterly Status Report.

as of March 31, 2012

Total Grant Value:
$460,940,000
Total Amount Committed:
$422,669,983 (92%)
Total Amount Expended:
$336,920,035 (73%)
Expenditures are the sum of cash outlays and quarterly accruals for work completed but not yet paid or invoiced.

Signed:
November 29, 2006
Entry into Force:
September 20, 2007
Program Completed:
September 20, 2012

This project promotes increased physical and social infrastructure in the Northern Zone through both education and investment in vital community infrastructure. Communities are anticipated to benefit from targeted investment to provide the basic elements of water/sanitation and electrification, and local populations are anticipated to benefit from improved technical education and training activities and renovated regional technical/vocational institutions. Specifically, MCC funding aims to:

Provide both formal and non-formal technical vocational education;
Provide improved access to potable water systems and sanitation services;
Increase electricity coverage in the Northern zone; and
Construct and improves community infrastructure.

Project Amount: $101,753,001.00

This project aims to assist with the development of profitable and sustainable productive business ventures, with a primary focus on assisting poor farmers shift to the cultivation of high-value crops, forestry, and animal products. Specifically, MCC funding aims to:

Provide technical assistance to farmers and business development services;
Support capital investment to selected applicants for commercial activities;
Provide credit guarantees and technical assistance to financial institutions; and
Provide crop insurance to small producers in the Northern Zone.

Project Amount: $71,824,000.00

El Salvador Compact Closeout Video

Learn how MCC’s $461 million compact with El Salvador helped provide clean water, electricity, sanitation, teacher training and student scholarships. And watch first-hand accounts of how this grant helped achieve this and a decades-long dream of completing the Northern Transnational Highway, which opens access to the country’s Northern Zone, improving opportunity and promoting economic growth.

Watch the video