This year, the government and many public institutions, such as mayors, development councils and public companies, will have an important budget as a result of the approval by the Congress of the Republic of the general budget for state income and expenditures for the fiscal year 2022.
The Ministry of Public Finance reported in the first week of the year that it had started with a cash of 12 billion quetzals. This is a good sign. It allows us to constantly ask those in charge of the public administration about our needs in the country in terms of infrastructure, so that we can continue economic growth at a good pace and follow the path of economic sustainability, so that it depends on it Let us develop the country.
Guatemala needs significant investments in both ports. In the port of Santo Tomas de Castilla (Atlantic), the unions of fuels and vegetable oils have for many years demanded the expansion of the liquid berth, because what is there causes delays in ships, and this does not allow them to properly meet the needs or make them cost-competitive. There are more needs in this port, but unfortunately neither the unions nor the shift managers will allow the investments to be made. The same happened in Puerto Quetzal (the Pacific), where deep investments and other needs were not made due to what the unions forbid. Consistently, many of us say we have a privileged geographic position, but we are lagging behind in the competition in both ports. Efficient and competitive ports are needed to progress.
It is also essential that the CA-9, the road that runs from Puerto Quetzal to Puerto Barrios, is properly maintained and extended where appropriate. Likewise, the border-to-border connection, both on CA-2 (from Tecún Umán and El Carmen, San Marcos, to Pedro de Alvarado, Jutiapa), and on CA-1 (from La Mesilla, Huehuetenango, to San Cristobal and Valle Nuevo, Gutiapa). The country’s highways, both paved and unpaved, need adequate maintenance so that the movement of people and products has minimal movement in order to be able to operate.
In its innovation and development plan, the government announced the transformation of San Jose Escuintla Airport to be the best airport for air cargo traffic in the region. In 2022 they must make it happen. Guatemala needs to have airports in the interior of the country to facilitate the movement of passengers, so that time is full and everyone achieves better results for individual or commercial management. Mundo Maya, in Flores, Petén, already has a great movement, as it is starting to become evident in Puerto Barrios, Izabal. It is missing that Quetzaltenango, the second city in the country, has more air traffic especially for fast and efficient business travel.
The announcement on Friday the 14th that Ferrovías has signed with Mexican company Remed, SA to rehabilitate the country’s Pacific train line, after many years of no rail service, is very good news. They report that there are 235 kilometers of railways to be enabled. Connecting Guatemala with Mexico and from there to the United States and Canada, and vice versa, would be a great achievement, since this would allow goods to be transported at a lower cost and less time than it is currently. In addition, if rickshaws were enabled to transport people within the country, there would be fewer bus accidents outside of cities on the roads. Europe is a benchmark in the use of railways for the transportation of both passengers and goods.
These steps must be followed to achieve the desired development.
