The vote of the directors of the Directorate of Priority Projects (DIPP) was divided with respect to the institutional formalization of the entity, which left the suspended process. Consequently, the DIPP will not be able to receive the Q30 million assigned for this year.
During the session held last Wednesday, the proposal on the administrative functioning of the DIPP was voted. Two alternatives were raised: one as an entity attached to the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing (MICIVI), dependent on their processes; and another as a decentralized and independent entity. The vote ended up tied.
The Minister of Economy, Gabriela García; the Deputy Minister of Communications, Allan Guevara; and the Deputy Minister of Finance, Carlos Melgar (the three official representatives), voted in favor of the DIPP being attached to the Micivi. For his part, Carmen April, representative of the International Transport Users Council of Guatemala (Cutriguea), and Byron Pivarral, of the Guatemalan school of Engineers, voted against.
In a second round, García and Melgar voted against the proposal of the private sectors, which obtained three votes in favor by the delegates of Cutriguea, Micivi and the College of Engineers. However, none of the proposals reached the four votes necessary for approval.
Faced postures
The official delegates argued that the DIPP must have all the necessary administrative processes – such as accounting classification, financial unit, administrative code and planning – under the entity figure assigned to the MICIVI.
In contrast, private sector representatives argued that the DIPP must comply with His legal mandate as a decentralized entity, with administrative independence, even with respect to the civil service regime. For this, it is necessary that the Ministry of Finance (MINFIN) update the current administrative manuals and create specific classifiers for this type of entity.
During the session, it was agreed to carry out additional technical analyzes to solve the situation.
Current limitations and consequences
Due to the lack of administrative structure, the DIPP manager, Claudia Lucrecia Cáceres Maldonado, cannot execute any operational or administrative process, since the funds have not been enabled.
Juan Carlos Zapata, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Development of Guatemala (Fundesa), criticized Delays in the implementation of the Priority Road Infrastructure Law by the Executive. He directly pointed to the Minfin and the Ministry of Planning and Programming of the Presidency (Segeplán), arguing that in April the manuals, processes and codes necessary for the operation of the DIPP should have been created.
Zapata reiterated that this must be an institution with administrative, financial and economic independence, and with its own civil service system, as established by law. “There is a misinterpretation by the Executive, which aims to structure the DIPP as if it were an executing unit assigned to the Micivi, such as roads or covial, which contradicts the law,” he said.
Key operational delays
The Fundesa manager also warned about the implications of these arrears:
- The manager was appointed, but cannot receive salary due to lack of resources.
- The generation of the planning report on the state of the road network and the evaluation of the infrastructure with international standards, processes that should be approved by the DIPP.
Pending tasks for the second semester of 2025
In July: The Board of Directors must define international standards to evaluate the status of priority road infrastructure.
November: Hiring, tenders or agreements will be made to execute said evaluation.
January 2026: The procedures in Guatecompras, including norms, electronic forms, specific modules and other administrative processes must be operational.
The hiring model under the priority road infrastructure law
The Priority Road Infrastructure Law establishes a New Public Procurement Model focused on the efficiency and sustainability of projects, through schemes of Payments for availability or payments for services. This mechanism allows payments to be made only when the infrastructure is built and in operation, thus guaranteeing tangible results before paying public resources.
The model provides contracts to long term of up to 30 years Among the public entity responsible for implementing the law – the Directorate of Priority Projects (DIPP) – and private developers. The DIPP will be in charge of identifying, awarding and supervision of the projects under this scheme.
Although the regulations contemplate other contracting models, the payment for availability is emerging as the most appropriate given the nature of the road sections to be awarded and the profile of the contractor companies that could execute them.
Strategic roads and long -term vision
The central objective is to award comprehensive contracts that include the CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE of the prioritized roads. These correspond mainly to:
- The Central American Roads (CA) They connect ports and borders.
- The Regional and Metropolitan Ringsfundamental to decongest urban traffic and facilitate regional logistics.
In accordance with article 87 of the Law, they have been established 17 priority projects:
- 12 projects on specific routes of the Central American Network, which cover approximately 1,700 kilometers.
- 5 additional projectsas Peripheral rings and strategic libraries.
This set of works represents more of the 70% of vehicular traffic from the country and more of 80% of commercial transportwhich makes it a fundamental pillar to improve the Competitiveness, regional connectivity and economic development.