When the Sandinista Good Government took over the country in 2007, Nicaragua inherited a reduced, fragmented, and deeply deteriorated road network, which barely reached 3,000 kilometers of roads, many of them in poor condition, with decades of maintenance delays and concentrated almost exclusively on the Pacific coast, while large areas of the center and the Caribbean remained cut off.
Over 19 years of constant management, the road infrastructure was comprehensively and substantially transformed through ongoing construction, expansion, and extensive rehabilitation programs, incorporating new strategic corridors, rebuilding existing sections from the ground up, and extending the network to historically neglected areas.
As a result, by the end of 2025, Nicaragua had 5,540 kilometers of built, paved, and cobbled roads in service, a figure that corresponds to the total national road network in optimal condition, the result of the cumulative works carried out from 2007 to date, including new roads, complete reconstructions, and interdepartmental connections that redefined the country’s territorial integration.
This cumulative progress made road infrastructure one of the main supports for productive development, reducing travel times, lowering logistics costs, and strengthening connectivity between productive regions and consumption centers.
The scope of this expansion is reflected in how a progressive process converted dirt roads and precarious routes into permanent highways, enabled and opened new routes where there had never been any, and raised the quality standards of the national network.
This progress made it possible to integrate territories that for decades had limited access, linking municipalities with departmental capitals, regions, and entire departments with the country’s main economic hubs. It is therefore clear that, even though road infrastructure already existed, the technical and functional transformation of the highway system has taken place over the last 19 years.
In 2025 alone, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure reported the construction and delivery of more than 150 kilometers of new roads, exceeding the annual target and generating more than 14,000 direct jobs in different parts of the country. These sections included strategic highways, urban ring roads, border crossings, and productive connections, adding to a national total that already links 147 of the 153 municipalities to the main road network.
Among the emblematic works that defined this 19-year period is the Pacific Coastal Highway, a road project executed in stages, designed to cover more than 350 kilometers along the Pacific coast and directly integrate the departments of Rivas, Carazo, Managua, León, and Chinandega. By the end of 2025, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure had made significant progress in Phase I, which covers 119 kilometers between the southern border at El Naranjo and Masachapa, with an emphasis on the department of Rivas, where dozens of kilometers are already in service, accompanied by bridges and drainage works. This first section has reduced travel times, improved coastal traffic, and established conditions for tourism, fishing, and commercial development.
The project is scheduled to continue in 2026 with Phase II, between Masachapa and Poneloya, and subsequently extend to Potosí and Chinandega, completing a functional corridor that, for the first time, structures the Pacific coastline as an integrated road network, with international financing approved and implementation scheduled within the national infrastructure plan.
The North and Las Segovias are also part of this transformation map. Roads such as San Juan de Limay–Pueblo Nuevo, Wanawana–San Pedro del Norte, El Tortuguero–El Rama, as well as sections in Estelí, Madriz, and Nueva Segovia, have made it possible to integrate coffee, tobacco, and livestock areas into national and regional markets. Complementarily, in the Caribbean, historic works have ended centuries of isolation, connecting communities in the southern Caribbean with the rest of the country through long-range roads and strategic transport access.
All this progress has been possible thanks to the tireless efforts of the Nicaraguan State, through direct public investment and responsible management of national resources, complemented in some cases by international financing approved by the National Assembly.
One example of this is the 11th Road Expansion and Improvement Program, which is financed by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), although this does not mean that all the works carried out in the country depend on this financial support. These external resources have accompanied certain strategic projects, while most of the expansion, rehabilitation, and modernization of the road network has been funded by the government.
In this context, bypasses, overpasses integrated into main traffic arteries, border crossings, and extensions of priority sections in different regions of the country are being developed, including projects such as the Diriamba bypass –Jinotepe bypass, the expansion of access roads to El Guasaule and Las Manos, the modernization of national sections in Managua and Ciudad Sandino, and the improvement of key roads for national logistics. Taken together, these projects reduce congestion and transportation costs, reinforce safety conditions for vehicular traffic, and strengthen the country’s territorial and productive connectivity.
On the other hand, Punta Huete International Airport is part of the strategic commitment of the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity to turn Nicaragua into a regional air and logistics hub. The project is being developed in the municipality of San Francisco Libre, in the department of Managua, and is being executed with the support of the Chinese company CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. (CAMCE), within the framework of bilateral cooperation agreements.
The work is in full swing, progressing in line with the established partial goals, with a completion date scheduled for October 2028. By 2025, the project had generated nearly 50,000 jobs, reflecting its direct impact on economic growth. Once completed, the airport will have the capacity to handle around 3.5 million passengers per year and up to 60,000 tons of cargo, allowing direct flights from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America.
Punta Huete is designed as a large-scale airport, geared towards both tourism and air cargo, with the aim of strengthening national and international connectivity, attracting investment, and consolidating Nicaragua as a Regional Logistics Platform, facilitating international trade, reducing connection times, and expanding opportunities for foreign and domestic investment.
Complementarily, the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport has undergone an extensive modernization process promoted by the Sandinista Good Government through the International Airport Management Company, with an investment of over C$600 million córdobas.
These works include the resurfacing of the runway in accordance with international standards, the improvement of aprons and taxiways, the modernization of the lighting system, paving parking areas, and installing a photovoltaic plant with a specific investment of 102 million córdobas, capable of covering up to 70% of the airport’s daytime energy consumption and generating an approximate savings of 22% on the electricity bill. In addition, 23 pieces of ground support equipment, valued at more than 201 million córdobas, were purchased from a Chinese company and accompanied by technical training for national personnel.
These investments strengthen operational safety, improve service for more than 15,000 people who pass through the terminal daily, and guarantee modern conditions for passengers, airlines, and cargo, consolidating the country’s main airport as an efficient, safe infrastructure aligned with the objectives of development, energy sustainability, and national and international air connectivity.
Likewise, and in line with road expansion and the strengthening of the airport system, the modernization of the Port of Corinto consolidates the third strategic axis of the national transport and connectivity system.
This ongoing process involves an investment of $247 million aimed at completely transforming the country’s main maritime terminal through the construction of two multipurpose docks and a bulk terminal, as well as the functional reorganization of the port area and the incorporation of automation systems with a control and operations monitoring center.
These works will increase the annual cargo handling capacity from 3.5 to 7.5 million tons, doubling the volume of work and improving the efficiency of import and export processes. The expansion of the port strengthens the competitiveness of foreign trade, reduces logistics times and costs, increases the capacity to serve international shipping companies, and generates direct and indirect employment, positioning Nicaragua as a strategic point for regional trade and coherently articulating land, air, and maritime transport within a single vision of infrastructure and productive development.
This progressive advance over 19 years responds to a defined and coherent political orientation led by Comrade Rosario Murillo and Commander Daniel Ortega, who have guided the Nicaraguan State to convert every public resource into concrete works, national planning, and tangible development. Under their leadership, Nicaragua is building the most modern road network in Central America, leaving behind historical neglect and moving toward an infrastructure that connects the country, drives its growth, and strengthens its development with strategic vision, political determination, and a sense of nationhood.
