The government of El Salvador has allocated $203 million for infrastructural upgrades near the so-called “Bitcoin Beach” in La Libertad.
Creditworthiness, substantial delays in bond issues, sovereign debt at 40 cents on the dollar, repeated threats from the nation’s biggest creditor to rescind its use of Bitcoin as legal cash, and growing gang violence caused the country’s president to threaten gang inmates with famine.
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador asserts that La Libertad would use the infusion of capital to construct a commercial complex, parking lot, beach club, and sewage treatment facility on a 15,000-square-meter plot. Additionally, Bukele’s government intends to add four lanes to 21 kilometres of roadway in “Surf City.”
Administrators praised the use of hydraulic concrete, which has a greater initial cost but outlasts asphalt. Undisclosed is the proportion of the $203 million related to the marginal cost of superior concrete.
In addition to the new bike routes, the drainage systems and bridges were upgraded. Overall, Bukele strives to promote tourism in Bitcoin-friendly regions.
El Salvador has plenty of funds for Bitcoin Beach
Bitcoin Beach predates President Bukele’s initiatives to legalize bitcoin as a currency. By 2019, an anonymous donor has contributed to Mission Sake’s Community Build and sent large sums into El Zonte in La Libertad to enhance the town’s bitcoin infrastructure.
As the Bitcoin Beach app spread to residents’ mobile devices and retailers added point-of-sale terminals accepting bitcoin as payment — attracting overseas bitcoiners as visitors — the town acquired the moniker “Bitcoin Beach.”
After the COVID-19 outbreak, Bitcoin Beach rapidly reestablished its tourist sector. Bukele attributed the rebound in tourism to El Salvador’s crackdown on dangerous gang activities, the excellent surf, and visits by overseas bitcoiners. Morena Valdez, El Salvador’s tourism minister, noted that the country’s other answers to COVID-19 helped enhance visitor trust.
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