Tegucigalpa: Sustainable and climate resilient city
NDF co-financed Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative (ESCI) presents the Action Plan for the Honduran capital at public event in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa, Honduras 25 February 2016. The Mayor of Tegucigalpa, Nasry "Tito" Asfura and the representative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Honduras, Mirna Liévano, participated yesterday at the presentation of the Action Plan for Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela that outlines the main challenges and opportunities facing the capital of Honduras.
The Action Plan is an outcome of the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative (ESCI), and the plan proposes a series of investment programs and projects aimed at the creation of a sustainable, secure and open capital. The proposed activities will be carried out in the short-term (2015-2019), medium-short (2020- 2024) and long-term (2025-2034), with total investments of about 660 million dollars.
The Plan’s vision is an integrated approach with the aim of achieving more equitable urban development and creation of economic opportunities for the more than 1.2 million people living in the Honduran capital and neighbouring municipalities of Valley Angeles and Santa Lucia.
The ESCI Task Manager Horacio Terraza presented an overview of the technical studies that form the basis for designing the Action Plan. He stressed that they reveal a highly fragmented city, both geographically and socially. This is reflected in major infrastructure deficits and poor housing conditions on the outskirts of the capital. The Action Plan proposes making the city more compact to accommodate the fast-growing smaller urban area instead of sprawling unplanned development. This would cut in half the costs of urban infrastructure over the next three decades. The Action Plan has five strategic lines of action covering water security and sanitation, reducing vulnerability to natural disasters, territorial planning, generation of safe and prosperous communities and fiscal sustainability.
Mirna Lievano de Marques, IDB representative for Honduras, emphasised that cities like Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela play a key role in livelihood improvements and strengthening urban competitiveness, to attract business investments and generate employment. "Therefore, the Action Plan should be a first example to be replicated in other cities around the country," said Lievano do Marques.
For his part, Mayor Tito Asfura said that the capital is already developing different sectors such as road infrastructure, housing, water and sanitation, public safety, human development, community participation, transparency and accountability, technical and institutional financial strengthening. So the Action Plan will help integrate more active and participatory social and private actors to be part of this comprehensive change of the city towards a more sustainable and climate resilient city.
The work of ESCI in Tegucigalpa is financed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) as part of the project: Climate Change and Sustainable Cities.
The Action Plan for Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela (in Spanish) is available for download below.
