EL SALVADOR · DEVELOPMENT FINANCE

The El Salvador CAF meeting produced a promise of more support for health, schools, airports and public spaces. It builds on loans approved since 2022.

President Nayib Bukele, whose government agreed with the development bank CAF to deepen support for health, schools, airports and public spaces. Photo: public domain / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and CAF, a regional development bank, agreed on 28 September 2026 to deepen the bank’s support. The four areas are education, health, aeronautics and the recovery of public spaces, but CAF announced no new loan amount.

A Meeting at the Presidential Palace

Sergio Díaz-Granados, executive president of CAF, met Bukele at Casa Presidencial, the presidential palace in San Salvador. CAF published its account the same day, and the Salvadoran news site La Página reported it on 29 September.

CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, is owned by its member countries. Its board is made up of finance ministers, central bank governors and senior economic officials of those states.

According to CAF, the two men reviewed the relationship since El Salvador joined the bank in 2022. They then discussed the country’s next priorities.

What CAF Actually Committed

The concrete outcome is a pledge, not a signed loan. CAF said both sides agreed to deepen its support ‘with financial capacity, agility and mobilisation of resources from strategic partners’.

The four named areas are education, health, aeronautical development and the recovery of public spaces. CAF did not publish a figure, a timetable or a specific health project.

Díaz-Granados described the link as a mature, long-term relationship. He said CAF is willing to keep mobilising its own funds and those of partners for new investments, especially new enabling infrastructure.

El Salvador’s international airport near San Salvador; aeronautics is one of the four areas in the new CAF commitment. Photo: Mauricio G. Campos, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Airport Loan Already on the Table

The most visible CAF project is ‘El Salvador Vuela’ (El Salvador Flies), an aviation programme. CAF’s board approved a US$320 million loan for it on 18 July 2024.

The programme has three parts. It covers the new Pacific International Airport in the east, a remodelled Ilopango airport near San Salvador and a new Tonalá aerodrome.

CAF said in 2024 that the plan follows the Infrastructure Master Plan 2030 and the National Tourism Plan. Both plans belong to the Bukele government’s own development programme.

During his visit, Díaz-Granados toured the Pacific airport site. CAF says the programme aims to cut the cost and time of air travel, lift tourism and improve disaster response.

Schools and the Internet Cable

Education is the second pillar. Since 2022 CAF has approved US$400 million in credits for El Salvador’s Education System Modernisation Reform.

The money goes to school buildings, digital equipment, teacher training and closing the digital gap. Díaz-Granados visited the Escuela OEI school in Santa Tecla with Education Minister Karla Trigueros.

CAF says the reform is already showing positive results, without publishing figures. It will keep funding the reform and offering technical help so that it reaches the whole school system.

In the same July 2024 decision, CAF approved US$145 million for El Salvador’s first submarine internet cable. The bank said then that faster internet would support online education, telemedicine and electronic public services.

That cable project is now moving through tenders and contracts. It links the school agenda to the country’s wider push for digital connectivity.

The historic centre of San Salvador, where the recovery of public spaces is one of the areas CAF has pledged to support.

Why a Small Country Borrows From CAF

El Salvador uses the US dollar, so all these amounts are in dollars. Development banks such as CAF usually lend for longer periods than private markets, which suits airports and schools.

Since joining, El Salvador has widened its work with CAF from single projects to a broader investment agenda, the bank says. That agenda so far covers connectivity, aviation, infrastructure, education and digital transformation.

The Other Side of the Ledger

Every CAF credit is a loan the state must repay with interest. In El Salvador, foreign loans to the state also need approval from the Legislative Assembly before money flows.

The new pledge therefore sets a direction rather than a sum. Its real weight will show only when specific health or public-space loans reach CAF’s board and the Assembly.

What It Means for Residents and Investors

For residents, the visible results so far are building sites: an eastern airport, school upgrades and a planned cable. Health is now named as a priority, but no project has been described.

For contractors, CAF-financed work has included international tenders, such as the recent consultancy for the submarine cable. The next signal will be the first new operation CAF approves under this agenda.

More: El Salvador’s first submarine cable. El Salvador news, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did CAF promise El Salvador on 28 September 2026?

CAF and President Bukele agreed to deepen the bank’s support in education, health, aeronautics and the recovery of public spaces. CAF did not announce a new loan amount or a specific new project.

How much has CAF already lent El Salvador for airports and schools?

CAF approved US$320 million in July 2024 for the ‘El Salvador Vuela’ aviation programme. It has also approved US$400 million in credits since 2022 for the education modernisation reform.

What is CAF?

CAF is the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, owned by its member countries. El Salvador became a member in 2022.

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What is the background to El Salvador CAF?

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El Salvador joined CAF in 2022; the bank also lent US$145 million in 2024 for the country's first submarine internet cable (CAF).

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Sources: CAF · CAF · La Página · La Página