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Interview: Bolivia to invest over 48 bln USD for development

Xinhua, December 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Bolivia will dedicate around 48.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2020 for its economic and social development, Bolivian Planning and Development Minister Rene Orellana said on Wednesday.

These funds would be drawn from a number of sources, including foreign credits and foreign reserves, in order to guarantee average growth of 5.8 percent for Bolivia between 2016 and 2020, Orellana said in an interview with Xinhua.

"We are already executing our development plan. We have been clear that the large part of its financing will come from credits, such as the Chinese credit," he added.

According to the plan presented on Tuesday to President Evo Morales, 55 percent of the funding will come from internal sources, 39 percent from external sources, and 6 percent from state and municipal governments.

As for how these investments will guarantee a 5.8-percent GDP growth in tough economic times, Orellana said the investment would focus "strongly" on improving infrastructure and productivity, in order to boost the domestic economy.

The investment will mainly target at strategic sectors for Bolivia, including energy, hydrocarbons, mining, highways and airports.

Over the next five years, the country plans to invest 10 billion U.S. dollars on highways, over 12.68 billion U.S. dollars on hydrocarbons sector, and 5.85 billion U.S. dollars on exports of 2,592 megawatts of energy to neighboring countries, said the minister.

He said this development plan also aims to improve Bolivia's reputation in the eyes of foreign investors. Bolivia seeks to receive annual foreign direct investment (FDI) worth 8 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020, estimated at 57 billion U.S. dollars.

"Some opponents and analysts have said this plan will make us more indebted but the loans we have secured, worth over 48 billion U.S. dollars, are all part of the agreements," added the minister.

He referred to the specific use of loans obtained, such as 7.4 billion U.S. dollars from China, which will go toward urban train systems in the cities of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, as well as to build and renovate hospitals and schools.

Furthermore, Bolivia has sealed various financing agreements with organizations including the Inter-American Development Bank, the Andean Development Corporation, the French Development Agency, the European Investment Bank, and the Korea Eximbank. Endi