WASHINGTON, June 14, 2017 –Improved legalization, titling and property registration services will benefit some 800,000 Nicaraguans thanks to an US$18 million loan approved today by the World Bank Board of Directors.
The loan is additional financing for the Second Land Administration Project in Nicaragua. The project has registered and legalized lands in nearly 30 percent of Nicaraguan territory, including Pacific and central areas of the country and the Caribbean region, where collective titling of indigenous lands was especially noteworthy. The new financing will expand project activities to contribute to improving the investment climate and increasing economic opportunities for Nicaraguans.
“The Nicaraguan government has received the good news of the approval of this financing, which will allow us to continue developing and consolidating the legal, institutional and technical framework for the Nicaraguan population’s right to property. This means legal security to make the country more attractive for investment, create more jobs, and provide more stability and economic growth, with social justice for the well-being of our people,” said Treasury and Public Credit Minister Iván Acosta Montalván.
As part of the property legalization activities, the original project granted 75,000 families legal title to their lands, of which more than 54,000 were new titles. Fifty-seven percent of beneficiaries are women. Advances were also made in redesigning the Integrated Cadastral and Registry Information System (SIICAR) and in resolving land disputes, 60 percent of which were mediated and registered in the Public Registry for Property.
“Guaranteeing property rights and modernizing institutions associated with land organization are crucial for improving Nicaragua’s productivity,” said Luis Constantino, the World Bank representative in Nicaragua. “Since 2002, the World Bank has supported Nicaragua in this task. Today we acknowledge the effort of the current government, which has transformed the property sector by enacting new laws, modernizing institutions and legalizing lands.”
The project’s contingency component also supports Nicaragua’s capacity to respond to disasters by quickly and effectively allowing rapid reassignment of project funds for emergency response.
The loan has a 25-year maturity period, with a five-year grace period.
Contacts:
Washington: Marcela Sánchez-Bender, +1 (202) 473-5863, msanchezbender@worldbank.org
Nicaragua: Cynthia Flores, +505 2270-0000, cfloresmora@worldbank.org
Learn more about the work of the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean: www.worldbank.org/lac
Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldbank
Be updated via Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BancoMundialLAC
For our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/BancoMundialLAC
News Release
2017/279LAC
