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A $95 million loan from the World Bank, intended to rebuild areas of Nicaragua affected by the 2020 hurricanes Eta and Iota, has turned into a monumental failure. As CONFIDENCIAL has revealed in two previous reports, an official Bank report confirms that most of its goals have not been met and rates its execution as “unsatisfactory.” The funds meant to repair roads, build homes, and support fishermen are falling far short of their objectives.
In this article, we break down the key points of a project that has left unfinished works and a loss of over $888,000. We explain the million-dollar failure: financial losses, unmet construction goals, and management failures by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
After four years of implementation and less than a year before its scheduled completion, inaction and poor fund management have left the population in Nicaragua’s Caribbean and Northern regions without the benefits they urgently needed.
What Does the World Bank Project Entail?
In 2021, the Nicaraguan government obtained a loan from the World Bank for post-hurricane reconstruction. The initial amount was $80 million, later increased to $95 million. This loan was divided into three components, plus administrative costs:
- $27.4 million to rehabilitate 200 kilometers of roads.
- $35.2 million for the construction or repair of 3,500 homes.
- $10.3 million to support the recovery of fishing activities.
- $22.1 million for design and management, including UNOPS fees.
How much money has been spent?
According to a June 2025 World Bank report, $62.90 million of the $95 million loan has been disbursed, divided into:
- $59.6 million of the initial $80 million, representing 74.5%.
- $3.3 million of the additional $15 million, equivalent to 22%.
Despite this significant disbursement, the project has failed in its execution.
What Does the World Bank Say About the Project?
The World Bank rates the project’s execution as “unsatisfactory” in an evaluation report dated June 30, 2025. This is the lowest possible rating, meaning that despite the money spent, the results do not justify the expenditure. Nicaragua will have to repay the debt, but with very few tangible benefits for the affected population.
What Are the Project’s Failures and Losses?
The project has failed to meet its goals, leaving the population without the promised benefits. The main deficiencies are:
- Loss of more than US$888,000: The country will pay a debt of $888,116 without having received the completed works. This is because the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), responsible for execution, did not apply fines or guarantees to the construction company Esinsa, which left projects unfinished and with serious deficiencies.
- Where are the homes?Of the original goal of 3,500 homes, the project has built none as of the report date, and the target was later reduced to 256 homes. The construction of 267 homes in Bilwi was completely abandoned. According to internal communications accessed by CONFIDENCIAL, perhaps only 60 homes will be delivered.
- What happened with the roads?Of the $27.44 million allocated to rehabilitate 200 kilometers of roads, only 101.5 kilometers were contracted, and just 38.7 kilometers were repaired. The most recent World Bank report indicates that the target for rehabilitated kilometers by May 2026 is “up to 50.”
- What about the future of fishing?For the recovery of the fishing sector, with $10.3 million assigned, the project anticipates that only around 800 beneficiaries will have regained their income levels by the end of the project, with an estimated 4,321 kits distributed or yet to be distributed.
Why did UNOPS fail in Nicaragua?
The World Bank assigned management to UNOPS to ensure transparency and efficiency, given its lack of trust in the Nicaraguan government. However, the UN agency failed for the following reasons:
- Poor management and supervision: Internal documents and complaints from UNOPS staff reveal “deficiencies in design studies, inadequate field execution, and lack of quality control.” Several “technical alerts were ignored by local management.” The agency did not properly supervise the construction company Esinsa or enforce the penalties stipulated for delays and non-compliance.
- Payments for works not completed: There were “discrepancies between the physical progress of the works (what was actually built) and the financial progress (what had been paid).” This means payments were made for incomplete works, exposing flaws in the project’s original verification system.
- Lack of accountability: Whistleblowers report that the agency tried to “buy time,” and employees who filed complaints faced “labor reprisals, including biased evaluations, punitive improvement plans, and dismissals.”
And What Has the Government Said?
The government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has not commented on this project, which was taken from them to be managed by UNOPS. Sources within the United Nations agency told CONFIDENCIAL that the former director of UNOPS Nicaragua, Nazario Esposito, lost his position and was reassigned as an “advisor” in another country, pending his retirement in the coming months.
Two officials responsible for the project, who worked for the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and were in charge of supervising and ensuring the proper progress of the works, were dismissed during government-wide staff purges.
