Country Article / Postcards
The Coastal Road is Coming
Date: 04/12/2007Dear Reader,
You can feel it all over Nicaragua: excitement...energy.
Particularly in the region from Managua to the Costa Rican border, the charge in the air is palpable.
The long-awaited Coastal Highway, stretching from Montelimar in the north to the Costa Rican border in the south, has been approved, and the money is in place to fund the work. Developers and businesses along the coast are pushing for construction to begin. President Bolaños has stated to the press that he'd like to see the project completed before the end of his term.
This is great news for Nicaragua, but it's hardly the only news of growth from this country. Every time I visit Managua, I'm more impressed by what's going on in this city. Construction teams and heavy equipment everywhere you look. The pace of progress on the new expanded Granada-Managua Highway is something to see. This country is booming, and the government is pushing hard to keep apace with the ever-growing infrastructure demands.
Last month, 75 International Living readers met in Managua for IL's Latin American Investment Symposium to consider investment opportunities in the region. Everyone was bowled over by what Nicaragua has to offer. I heard again and again how Nicaragua is nothing like what most Americans expect it to be. It's safer, prettier, friendlier...and far more developed.
It's true. You can get almost anything you might need or want here today.
Within the last three months, on Carretera Masaya heading south from Managua, a new Plaza Familiar strip mall has appeared, with--among other things--a gourmet coffee shop, a Middle Eastern restaurant called Habibis, a Sushi Itto franchise, and a bank.
Immediately behind this strip mall is a brand-new La Colonia superstore. Picture a large grocery store with a deli, bakery, lunch area, lots of fresh produce, and U.S. brands. They even carry Haagen Dazs!
Nearby you can find a newly opened specialty wine shop called La Cava de Vino (the Wine Cave), in the middle of a sparkling new glass-fronted car dealership complex.
I was recently in Granada to attend a wedding and was impressed with all the activity in that town, too. New restaurants, a tapas bar, a custom dressmaker, a day spa, and a new night club head the list of recent openings. The city's old Colonial buildings are being restored at an accelerating pace. Granada is becoming, as local IL Office Manager Gordon Nelson puts it, "a boutique town." High-quality businesses are attracting growing numbers of tourists and investors with dollars to spend.
Nicaragua is becoming Central America's fastest-growing paradise. I can't wait to see what the next few years bring.
Gail Geerling
For International Living
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