EL TIPO DE CAMBIO DE HOY ES DE: Central America wants to compete with a more integrated logistics system, yet much of its freight still moves on a network that depends too heavily on roads. El Plan Maestro Regional de Movilidad y Logística 2035 gives that ambition a shared map, while also exposing the region’s physical infrastructure gap.
Why it matters. The region has more than 148 000 km of roads and 6525 km of Central American routes, but only 256.5 km of rail lines currently in operation. That imbalance helps explain why the road network still carries almost the entire weight of regional logistics.
- The plan outlines 11 strategic corridors and a regional vision through 2035. Its financing mechanisms, however, are indicative rather than binding.
- The document itself acknowledges the failures that drive up costs: urban congestion, a lack of alternative routes, weak maintenance, limited access to logistics nodes, and low resilience.
- In that context, roads remain the main bottleneck as the region tries to operate with greater predictability and compete on logistics costs.
Point of friction. Expert Federico Villalobos warns that “we are commercially integrated, but physically disintegrated.” The region did not build enough infrastructure to sustain that integration efficiently.
- The backlog will not be solved simply by widening highway segments. It requires modernizing border crossings, incorporating technology, and moving away from near-total dependence on tires over asphalt.
- The current model hits external trade, makes domestic freight pricier, congests urban access points, and reduces the predictability of logistics timelines.
- The plan itself acknowledges several structural weaknesses: fewer than 50 % of roads are paved, 43 segments require upgrading, and the system lacks alternative routes to respond to disruptions and disasters.
Seen and unseen. The region cannot be considered a fully developed logistics platform until it articulates roads, ports, airports, customs systems, and regional policy, according to Jorge Benavides, associate researcher at FUNDESA.
- “The greatest cost of being sacrificed is the lost opportunity not to grow,” he says. More efficient logistics reduce transit times and can expand investment, productivity, and business growth.
- According to estimates from the National Competitiveness Agenda (2012), stronger regional logistics could have added between 0.7% and 1.2% to GDP annually over a decade. For Guatemala, that would have represented 5 % growth.
- “We have been far too dependent on the vehicle,” Villalobos adds. For years, public policy has bet on “more and more roads,” while neglecting other fronts of mobility.
What comes next. The Plan estimates a total investment of USD 13 191B for Guatemala by 2035, the highest figure in the country-by-country table. That places Guatemala at the center of any serious attempt to improve regional connectivity.
- Benavides believes the country has the conditions to align itself with that agenda: a legal framework and resources. What it lacks is the level of political and institutional priority that a transformation of this scale demands.
- He also points out that turnover among authorities and the lack of technical continuity continue to stall projects that should be followed through consistently.
- At the heart of Guatemala’s debate is a simple question: which corridors, border crossings, and logistics nodes must become more efficient if the country is to stop competing on a logistics model still tied to the pavement.
Central America wants to compete with a more integrated logistics system, yet much of its freight still moves on a network that depends too heavily on roads. El Plan Maestro Regional de Movilidad y Logística 2035 gives that ambition a shared map, while also exposing the region’s physical infrastructure gap.
Why it matters. The region has more than 148 000 km of roads and 6525 km of Central American routes, but only 256.5 km of rail lines currently in operation. That imbalance helps explain why the road network still carries almost the entire weight of regional logistics.
- The plan outlines 11 strategic corridors and a regional vision through 2035. Its financing mechanisms, however, are indicative rather than binding.
- The document itself acknowledges the failures that drive up costs: urban congestion, a lack of alternative routes, weak maintenance, limited access to logistics nodes, and low resilience.
- In that context, roads remain the main bottleneck as the region tries to operate with greater predictability and compete on logistics costs.
Point of friction. Expert Federico Villalobos warns that “we are commercially integrated, but physically disintegrated.” The region did not build enough infrastructure to sustain that integration efficiently.
- The backlog will not be solved simply by widening highway segments. It requires modernizing border crossings, incorporating technology, and moving away from near-total dependence on tires over asphalt.
- The current model hits external trade, makes domestic freight pricier, congests urban access points, and reduces the predictability of logistics timelines.
- The plan itself acknowledges several structural weaknesses: fewer than 50 % of roads are paved, 43 segments require upgrading, and the system lacks alternative routes to respond to disruptions and disasters.
Seen and unseen. The region cannot be considered a fully developed logistics platform until it articulates roads, ports, airports, customs systems, and regional policy, according to Jorge Benavides, associate researcher at FUNDESA.
- “The greatest cost of being sacrificed is the lost opportunity not to grow,” he says. More efficient logistics reduce transit times and can expand investment, productivity, and business growth.
- According to estimates from the National Competitiveness Agenda (2012), stronger regional logistics could have added between 0.7% and 1.2% to GDP annually over a decade. For Guatemala, that would have represented 5 % growth.
- “We have been far too dependent on the vehicle,” Villalobos adds. For years, public policy has bet on “more and more roads,” while neglecting other fronts of mobility.
What comes next. The Plan estimates a total investment of USD 13 191B for Guatemala by 2035, the highest figure in the country-by-country table. That places Guatemala at the center of any serious attempt to improve regional connectivity.
- Benavides believes the country has the conditions to align itself with that agenda: a legal framework and resources. What it lacks is the level of political and institutional priority that a transformation of this scale demands.
- He also points out that turnover among authorities and the lack of technical continuity continue to stall projects that should be followed through consistently.
- At the heart of Guatemala’s debate is a simple question: which corridors, border crossings, and logistics nodes must become more efficient if the country is to stop competing on a logistics model still tied to the pavement.
