San Salvador, May 15th, 2023. - The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), with the support of the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA), delivered the "Regulations on Harmonized General Technical Specifications for Central American Railways" to the Sectoral Council of Central American Ministers of Transportation (COMITRAN) with a view to harmonizing the technical standards for Central American railway projects and ensuring that they are governed by the same regulation.

The document, which was prepared with the support of the bank through a technical cooperation in the amount of US$750,000, contains elements related to the design, technical characteristics, operation and maintenance of common railroad projects for all of Central America, applicable to the construction and future modernization of networks that will allow for the harmonized development of this type of transportation projects, interoperability and effective regional connectivity.

CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, highlighted: "through this high-impact regional cooperation, CABEI confirms its commitment to accelerate the transformation and development of the Central American railway sector, building the foundations for an integrated system that facilitates interoperability and interconnectivity, while supporting the preparation of robust and sustainable projects that respond to the development potential of the investing countries."

The regulation also describes the areas of opportunity for the region, including: promoting coordination between national and regional actors in order to optimize resources, aligning national planning with a regional vision to interconnect the six Central American countries, and promoting the implementation of the standard gauge to ensure proper connectivity and interoperability in the region.

For the preparation of the Regulations, CABEI was in charge of contracting a consortium Egismex - Egis Rail - Transconsult.

The Bank, in coordination with SIECA's Directorate of Transportation, Infrastructure and Logistics (DITIL) and the railroad liaisons of each of the COMITRAN member countries, reviewed the railroad regulation document that was approved today.