The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Lee Duk-Hoon, "Korea Eximbank") announced on March 30 that the bank will provide a USD 66 million EDCF* loan to fund the 'Juigalpa Sewage Disposal Project' carried out by the Nicaraguan government.

Korea Eximbank Chairman Lee Duk-Hoon met with Nicaraguan Finance Minister Iván Acosta Montálvan who was visiting Korea to attend the 2015 IDB-IIC Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors on march 28 and signed the loan agreement in Bexco, Busan.

The 'Juigalpa Sewage Disposal Project' is one of the Nicaraguan government's top priority national initiatives, and is aimed at constructing a sewage disposal plant in the city of Juigalpa, located in central Nicaragua.

The project is anticipated to bring huge improvements to the daily lives and sanitary conditions of the 70 thousand local residents.

It is expected, in particular, to have a significant effect in terms of preventing pollution of Nicaragua lake, the biggest lake in Central America and a major source of water for Nicaragua.

Korea Eximbank had previously provided a USD 33 million EDCF loan to the 'Nicaragua Juigalpa Water Supply Expansion Project Phases I and II', successfully executed from 2004 to 2010.

The two rounds of EDCF loans have paved the way for Korean companies to prove their technological mettle by constructing both the water supply and sewage systems for the same city, and will likely lead to expanded opportunities for Korean builders in the Latin American infrastructure market.

After signing the MOU, the bank's Chairman Lee said that EDCF would "gradually increase support for projects that contribute to Nicaragua's development in accordance with the Nicaraguan government's national development plan."