Skip to main content

Bolivia: Chinese loan is for infrastructure projects

China will loan Bolivia around US$7.5 billion for all types of infrastructure projects, according to the Bolivian vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera. The loan will arrive in tranches with different interest rates, from a low of less than 1% and up to 4%. It will likely increase the country's foreign debt to GDP ratio from 17% to 35%. Road projects will include a double-lane between Bombeo and Villa Tunari; road works between Santa Cruz and Cochabamba; and new motorways between Charazani and Porvenir,
October 21, 2015 Read time: 1 min
China will loan Bolivia around US$7.5 billion for all types of infrastructure projects, according to the Bolivian vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera.

The loan will arrive in tranches with different interest rates, from a low of less than 1% and up to 4%. It will likely increase the country's foreign debt to GDP ratio from 17% to 35%.

Road projects will include a double-lane between Bombeo and Villa Tunari; road works between Santa Cruz and Cochabamba; and new motorways between Charazani and Porvenir, Santa Rosa de la Roca and Remanzos, as well as between Trinidad and La Morona.

Other infrastructure projects include the Rositas hydroelectric project; the railway line between Motacusito and Puerto Busch; and an upgrade of Viru Viru airport. It will also finance a new stadium in Cochabamba.

Related Content

  • San Ignacio de Moxos-Trinidad road scheme in Bolivia to go ahead
    November 23, 2012
    Bolivian president Evo Morales said the 77.8km San Ignacio de Moxos-Trinidad road scheme would still go ahead – despite the temporary suspension of work on a contentious section of the route. President Morales’ assurance over the completion of the road, the final section of the highway link between Cochabamba-Beni, was given amid strong objections to the San Ignacio de Moxos-Villa Tunari stretch passing through the TIPNIS natural park.
  • Project complexity in Bolivia
    April 25, 2012
    Cost increases are being seen on work to the second phase of Bolivia’s Villa Tunari-San Ignacio de Moxos road project. The work looks likely to cost an extra US$250 million as the route will have to avoid the TIPNIS national reserve. The Bolivian Government made the decision to reroute the highway following appeals from the country’s indigenous community. However coca farmers are now appealing against this ruling, while farmers in neighbouring Brazil are also requesting guarantees on land use relating to th
  • Bolivia road upgrade funded by World Bank
    January 16, 2017
    A loan worth US$230 million from the World Bank will help pay for a major highway upgrade in Bolivia. The highway connects San Ignacio de Velasco and San Jose de Chiquitos in Santa Cruz. The funding will pay for the route to be paved with a new surface, which will help deliver lower journey times for road users, as well as improving safety levels. The upgrade to the road will help to increase capacity and will also provide a boost to the local economy in the Santa Cruz area of the country.
  • Bolivia road project in dispute
    October 25, 2017
    There is strong resistance mounting in Bolivia against the construction of a road link through the country’s TIPNIS national park, a conservation area. The new road is intended to improve transport connections between Villa Tunari and San Ignacio de Moxos.