A. M. 
According to the official website of Invest in El Salvador, the investment of private enterprise, which is around US$700 million, is driving the construction sector in El Salvador, also, according to the President of the Cámara Salvadoreña de la Construcción (Casalco), José Velásquez, this growth is similar to the 18% recorded in 2023, driven by the construction of apartment towers, hotels and shopping centers that continue to emerge in the country. Velásquez forecasts that the sector will close again with positive numbers this year, thanks to the interest of the private sector in investing in housing projects.
Velásquez explained that this year most of the investment is coming from the private sector, as public projects are still in the initial stages, as is the case of the Los Chorros highway viaduct. “As soon as these works begin, we will start to see the injection of money into the country’s domestic product”, mentioned Velásquez, underlining the importance of state projects in future economic growth.
Casalco’s President estimated that between US$600 and US$700 million will be invested in private projects , with the construction of apartments as the main destination of these funds. He also noted that the interest in investing has increased due to recent changes in the Oficina de Planificación del Área Metropolitana de San Salvador (OPAMSS), under the direction of Luis Rodríguez.
Rodríguez confirmed that in the three months he has been at OPAMSS, construction projects worth US$1 billion have been announced and that they are evaluating others totaling investments of US$4 billion, mainly in vertical housing. “Being conservative, we estimate that the investment could be around US$4 billion without counting public projects”, commented Rodriguez, emphasizing the renewed enthusiasm of the real estate sector.
Despite this great development, both Rodríguez and Velásquez acknowledge that the demand for housing below US$100,000 is still not being met. Velásquez said that he is in talks with the Minister of Housing, Michele Sol, to discuss alternatives that would allow the construction of affordable housing, and mentioned the need to analyze financing options so that families can have access to decent homes.
