The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $60,200,000 loan to modernize its Joya Andina and Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza airports in Uyuni and Tarija, integrating regions, enhancing connectivity, and boosting tourism in Bolivia.

The highly secure operational infrastructure to be funded by the loan is designed to handle approximately 500,000 passengers per year in the regions of Tarija and Uyuni. The project will invigorate small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises and provide safe infrastructure services to the public and private airlines that use Bolivia’s airport system.

The project will directly benefit over 300,000 Bolivians, including through construction jobs, and will emphasize women’s participation in the workforce.

The program will also fund a study on the air freight import and export ecosystem. It will support the Plurinational State of Bolivia by designing a regulatory proposal for the sector to open new international air routes, in line with Bolivia’s National Plan for Economic and Social Development. The first new route would be between Peru and Uyuni to meet international demand in the passenger market.

Additionally, the program includes measures for social inclusion and for closing gender gaps in the air transport industry. It will assess and train stakeholders to ensure that women and people with disabilities participate in implementing the project.

The program will also work to adapt the infrastructure to mitigate and reduce greenhouse gas emission. Its strategy for lowering water and energy consumption is based on the EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certification for sustainably building and operating this type of infrastructure.

The loan will be disbursed over the course of five years, with a 24-year repayment term, a 10.6-year grace period, and an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).