Announcement of Six Million US Dollars Loan for Second Port Project in Honduras on June 21, 1971

INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR • RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON 0. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 71/53 SUBJECT: $6.0 million loan for second port June 21, 1971 project in Honduras Puerto Cortes, on the Caribbean, will be further expanded and improved and a new port will be constructed on the Pacific coast of Honduras at Henecan in thP- Gulf of Fonseca, with the assistance of a $6.0 ~1illion World Bank loan. Infrastructure deficiencies, particularly in transport, have hampered Honduras' economic development. The country is heavily dependent on fore~gn trade and additional port capacity on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is necessary to support economic expansion. • Puerto Cortes is the leading Honduran port. It handled about three-quarter& of total cargo in 1970, including 877,000 tons of dry cargo and 1,143,000 tons of petroleum. The port is owned and operated by Empresa Nacional Portuaria (E~P)~ a wholly Government-owned statutory body, and its facilities include two deep- water wharves constructed with assistance from a $4.8 million Bank loan made in 1966. At present, no deep-water port exists on the Honduran Pacific coast. Fol- lowing a feasibility study, financed under the Bank port loan of 1966, a suitabl~ site for the development of a deep-·water port was found at Henecan, about two illiles from San Lorenzo, in the Gulf of Fonseca. The Puerto Cortes component includes construction of two deep-water berths and ancillary facilities; construction of a new railroad yard, roads and other services; procurement of a tug boat and pilot boat; and engineering consultant • services. /more  ~t.-i:i:t ? • R. No. 71/ 53 - Honduras - port - 2 - The Henecan component includes construction of, and equipment for, a two- r,?r.t:h whar~:-; sheds, buildings and utilities; cargo handling equipment and a pilot • h.:.>at; reclamation of land for storage and parking; c;onstruction of an access r:.nd; and engineering consultant services. The total cost of the project is estimated at $9.8 million, with the Bank 1.om financing the estinmted foreign exchange component. The local cost of $3.E, r,,illion will be met by ENP from its own resources. ENP (Apartado No. 18, Puerto .:-.:rtes, Honduras, C.A.) will be responsible for project executiou. The Bank loa.~ i.s for a term of 20 years, ~ith 4 years of grace, at 7-· 1/4% interest per annum. 0 • 1, 1, I' I' i I'. •