Nicaragua gets USD-33.3m S Korean loan for rural PV

Nicaragua's National Assembly approved a USD-33.3-million (EUR 29.5m) loan granted by the South Korean Export-Import Bank (EximBank) for a rural solar energy project.

Named “Proyecto de Desarrollo de Energia Renovable en Areas Rurales”, the photovoltaic (PV) project involves the installation of 11,484 panels to benefit 164 rural communities, or about 10,000 local homes, the government said.

Deputy Walmaro Gutierrez, chairman of the Committee on Production, Economy and Budget believes that the loan will help bring solar power to more than 62,000 people in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. In 2015, the electrification rate was about 83.3%, and the government expects it to reach 90% this year.

Under the plan, the Caribbean country will also put USD 3.1 million into the project, bringing the total investment to more than USD 36.4 million, according to the National Assembly.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.887)

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