Argentina inks US$300mn World Bank loan for roadworks

Argentina's treasury minister Nicolás Dujovne (pictured, right) and the president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim (left), signed a loan agreement under which the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will lend US$300mn to improve roads in the country's northwest.

The funds, approved by the bank's board in December, are to finance improvements to 93km of highways No. 34, No. 66, and No. 1V66, dubbed the Northwest Development Road Corridor, according to documents from the World Bank.

Works on the stretches include widening, construction of road intersections and general repairs.

Although all of the roads are located in Jujuy province, it is expected that Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán provinces will also benefit.

In a separate press release, the treasury ministry said that the works will benefit 10,000 vehicles per day, of which 15% are heavy vehicles.

The ministry also highlighted that, in the context of the US$50bn credit line approved by the IMF, the World Bank also greenlighted a standby credit line for Argentina worth US$1.75bn that will be disbursed this year and in 2019.