Twenty-five families that will be resettled, on account of work undertaken for the extension of the coastal highway between the international airport and Zacatecoluca, today received the title deeds for the land where their new homes or businesses will be located.
These families are currently located in the segment between the the Costa del Sol detour and Zacatecoluca. Their new homes will be in settlements that they chose themselves, near their current homes. These new dwellings — and, in addition, two new business establishments — will have two or three rooms, will be hooked up to all basic services, and will be delivered as ready in the coming months. Each property is in the name of all members of the family, a measure that will allow each family member to have legal rights over the property.
In addition to the 25 families (comprising some 73 people in all), a benefit will also accrue to 273 landowners and 52 merchants. As for the landowners, they received market-price payment for their land through which the road will pass. With respect to the merchants, they will receive economic compensation for having been dislodged. Furthermore, a job conversion training program with specialized courses will be carried out.
In June 2017, the first 22 of such property titles were delivered to 22 families residing along the stretch of road between the Comalapa detour and the Costa del Sol detour. So, in the entire segment between the Comalapa and Zacatecoluca detours, a total of 47 families (163 people) will have been relocated, while 316 landowners and 123 merchants will have benefited. FOMILENIO II hereby concludes the delivery of property titles to people to be resettled on account of the expansion project for the coastal highway in La Paz and accordingly guarantees the release of the rights-of-way needed to start the work.
Because of this road extension, it is expected there will be a reduction in travel time for both private transport and cargo along the 27 km segment. Currently, in these sections of the coastal highway, long lines of vehicles are common and there is a high incidence of traffic accidents. In addition to the work on the road itself, 13 pedestrian overpasses will be built.
In the peak investment phase, construction work on the highway will generate more than 300 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect ones. The estimated cost of the work is $67.2 million. It is expected to be ready in the first quarter of the year 2020.
The FOMILENIO II Logistics Infrastructure project has funding of $125.3 million for investment in infrastructure at strategic points in the road network. Of this, $109.6 million has been contributed by the United States Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and an additional $15.7 million by the Government of El Salvador.
FOMILENIO II is a program that is financed with $277 million given by the Government of the United States, through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), plus a counterpart contribution of $88.2 million from the Government of El Salvador, making a total of $365.2 million that will be invested over a period of five years from September 9, 2015 to September 9, 2020.
