Scott Squires and Carolina Gonzalez, Bloomberg News

MEXICO CITY/NEW YORK
EnergiesNet.com 11 01 2023

Mexico plans to spend about 61.3 billion pesos ($3.4 billion) to rebuild Acapulco after it was devastated by Hurricane Otis, Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez De La O said at a press briefing Wednesday. 

Around 218 million pesos will go toward the reconstruction of the Acapulco highway, added President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the briefing, in his first clear outline o steps to rebuild the area beyond immediate emergency relief. Residents affected by the storm won’t pay taxes or electricity bills until February. The government will offer zero-interest loans to small businesses affected by the storm, and it will pay half of interest payments owed by over 370 hotels, he added.

Hurricane Otis tore into the historic beach town on Oct. 25, leaving 46 dead and 58 missing as of Wednesday morning. The government’s current spending plan is far lower than estimates of economic destruction caused by the storm, with Enki Research calculating damages at about $15 billion.

The government “has the funds to refinance all the needs, the reconstruction plan,” said AMLO, as the president is known. The government may spend more if warranted, he added. 

When asked if he expected the recovery to take two years, as some estimates have suggested, AMLO said he believes it will take less. 

–With assistance from Maya Averbuch.

bloomberg.com 11 01 2023