Guatemala's Road Planning Tool Underutilized Years After Donation

Guatemala's Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure, and Housing (CIV) has not demonstrably used a road planning tool donated nearly four years ago, raising questions about its effectiveness in prioritizing infrastructure investments.

The Highway Development and Management System (HDM-4) platform was gifted to the CIV by the Foundation for the Development of Guatemala (Fundesa) on September 30, 2022. Developed to assess road conditions and guide decisions on conservation, rehabilitation, and investment, the platform was financed by the private sector and tailored to Guatemalan conditions.

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When one looks at the projects that are being executed or are requested to be executed, one does not see reports or runs from HDM-4 as a requirement. That can give us an idea that it is not being requested.

However, specialists who spoke with Prensa Libre, requesting anonymity, expressed uncertainty about the tool's current use in the ministry's planning processes. They noted a lack of public information confirming its application and observed no clear indications of its use in current ministry projects. The absence of HDM-4 reports as a requirement for new projects suggests it may not be integrated into the planning stages.

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Its main contribution is the prioritization of projects to enable planning with available resources. By applying it, we would be investing in the most urgent projects, where they are most needed, leading to a more efficient use of resources.

Delfino Mendoza, an analyst at Fundesa, highlighted HDM-4's strength in evaluating entire road networks, not just individual projects, which is crucial for prioritizing investments based on technical criteria. He stated that while the system can assess specific road segments, its full potential for national network planning and prioritization remains untapped in Guatemala.

From the logistics sector, Herlindo Herrera, director of the Chamber of Logistics, stressed the importance of evidence-based technical information for infrastructure decisions. He believes tools like HDM-4 are vital for ensuring that investments address the real needs of the road network, rather than isolated criteria.

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For the logistics sector, it is fundamental that decisions on road infrastructure are made based on technical and updated information, based on evidence. This allows investments to respond to the real needs of the road network and not solely to isolated criteria.