Honduran authorities probe possible corruption in US$260mn dry corridor works

Honduran authorities announced that they are investigating alleged irregularities in a project to build a 330km highway as part of a dry canal linking San Lorenzo port on the Pacific coast and Cortés port on the Atlantic coast, local media reported. 

The inquiry is part of the so-called ‘Poseidón V’ operation, which is investigating the works to build the four-lane highway between Valle and Mayagua departments, which was completed and opened just before the end of President Juan Orlando Hernández’s term in January 2022. 

According to the special unit against corruption networks (Uferco), former officials from the now-extinct ministry of infrastructure and public services (Insep) may have been involved in bribery and embezzlement. 

The unit is currently following three lines of investigation, according to newspaper La Prensa. The first of these is related to contracts awarded to Brazilian company Queiroz Galvão, which is claimed to have left most of the project unfinished despite being paid. 

A second line of investigation relates to suspicions of bribery of Honduran officials by executives from Queiroz Galvão. 

The last seeks to determine the final destination of all the public funds invested in the construction of the corridor, which helps connect Honduras with Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. 

The design and construction of the project took nearly two decades and required investments of US$264mn. It is used to transport goods from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast in less than five hours.

Photo credit: Cabei