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The General Budget of the Republic for 2026, presented by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, lists 55 flagship projects they are betting on to try to boost the economy. As in the previous year, they are projecting works for the Punta Huete airport, the coastal highway, the three gas stations, and a photovoltaic plant. Several depend on Chinese companies fulfilling the contracts signed to implement and develop the projects.
However, the regime is not clear about projects under construction, progress made, or completion plans for some of these projects, since a large portion are works that already had a budget in 2025.
For former Deputy Minister of Finance and Public Credit Juan Sebastián Chamorro, a major limitation is the lack of a report on the physical execution of the projects, something that used to be available. “Given that the information on their execution is very sporadic, we can only conclude that they are carryover projects, a result of under-execution,” he asserts. In fact, several projects fall into this category.
The budget proposal details some of them, such as improvements to the wastewater treatment system and investment in offices in various penitentiary centers across the country. Also included is the replacement and equipping of police stations in Juigalpa, Chinandega, and District 5 in Managua, totaling more than 10,500 square meters of construction, at a cost of 498.8 million córdobas.
Additionally, they plan to improve or replace fifteen community justice centers, five of which (Pantasma, Juigalpa, Murra, Matiguás, and the expansion of the Supreme Court Complex in Managua) are carryover projects.
The Budget project, presented by Minister of Finance and Public Credit Óscar Mojica Aguirre, assumes that the regime will have 195,618.4 million córdobas at its disposal. Of that amount, 171,701.5 million will come from domestic revenues, and 22,085.7 million will come from external resources (
The 55 projects (the list only includes those with allocations of 100 million córdobas or more) have a combined cost of 36,623 million córdobas, or nearly one billion dollars. The problem, again, is that the regime’s opacity in managing public affairs prevents any certainty about the real progress (and cost) of these projects.
“It expands its public investment in infrastructure projects that favor a few, at a time when social development continues to lag behind,” political analyst Manuel Orozco comments regarding the debt with China. He adds that “the government focuses on strengthening construction projects, contracting no more than ten companies close to the family group.”
Over C$12.8 billion for an airport that may never take off
Of all the projects, the one receiving the most resources is the reconstruction, expansion, and improvement of Punta Huete International Airport, with 7,288.1 million córdobas allocated. The budget document includes the construction of a 6.4-kilometer road made of hydraulic concrete to provide access to the expected airport, although it does not detail the cost or indicate whether it is included in the cited 7,288 million.
A report by Artículo 66 showed that, as of the end of June 2025, no progress had been made on the Punta Huete project.
Economist Juan Sebastián Chamorro noted that this allocation—equivalent to nearly 200 million dollars—“is an extremely high amount, difficult to execute in a single year.” Adding the 5,585 million from the current budget, “assuming they were executed, we are talking about an allocation of over 350 million dollars. An investment of that magnitude should be visible,” he emphasized.
Those 350 million dollars represent 87.5% of the projected cost for the airport and slightly more than the 320 million dollars expected to be contributed by the Chinese company China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. (Camce). Chamorro warns that, “with that logic, by the end of 2026 the airport should almost be conducting landing tests.” In total, the 2026 budget expects to receive the equivalent of just over 13,000 million córdobas from Chinese companies.
In contrast, Orozco points out that “China has not disbursed more than 20% of these loans.” On the other hand, Nicaragua committed to “pay under unfavorable terms, 20% of the loan value upfront, and with minimal oversight of workers’ labor conditions.” Based on this, he concludes that these contracts protect the economic interests of the family in power while increasing the country’s external dependency.
The second project receiving the largest allocation of resources is the construction of the Bluefields Port, with 4,830 million córdobas. This is followed by 2,534 million for the construction of the Pacific Coastal Highway between Managua, Carazo, and Rivas, which had already been allocated 4,726.0 million in 2025.
Almost C$4,000 million for eight hospitals
The El Hato solar photovoltaic power plant in Ciudad Darío is allocated 1,379 million córdobas, in addition to the 1,017.7 million already included in the 2025 budget. There are also 1,189.5 million for the rehabilitation of the Juan Pablo II runway and the construction of overpasses in Managua. The regime inaugurated the first and fourth stages of these projects, which had been allocated 1,461.5 million in the 2025 budget.
The project to improve Corn Island Airport is allocated 577.7 million córdobas, on top of the 841.7 million budgeted for 2025. Meanwhile, the construction of three LPG storage spheres receives 405 million for 2026, in addition to the 487.7 million included in 2025. There is also an allocation of 297.1 million for the improvement and equipment of Nicaragua’s National Emergency Response System (Sinarem), on top of the 540.3 million from 2025.
By entity, the Ministry of Health stands out with 3,931.5 million allocated to build, replace, or equip eight hospitals: four in Managua, one in Las Segovias, one in Nagarote, and one more in Matagalpa. This includes 1,365 million for the Juan Ignacio Gutiérrez Oncology Center, located in the building confiscated from INCAE. “It’s unclear how they plan to spend that money. Perhaps on equipment, we don’t know, but it’s a significant amount,” the expert noted.
There is also 3,901.9 million allocated for the National Port Company (Empresa Portuaria Nacional) to make improvements at the ports of Corinto and El Realejo, both in Chinandega. Finally, 1,856.7 million is assigned to the Managua Municipal Transport Regulatory Institute (Irtramma) to purchase buses, specifically of the Yutong brand.
Millions allocated to pay public debt in 2026
In 2026, the budget anticipates reducing by 1,674 million the amounts allocated to pay the country’s public debt (both domestic and external), in addition to covering interest and fees. Despite these savings, this category still consumes enormous resources: 34,247.8 million córdobas are being paid in 2025, with another 32,574.3 million expected in 2026.
This amount represents 16.7% of the budget submitted to the parliamentary plenary. Chamorro comments that “Ortega has irresponsibly indebted the country, and this has been growing, especially the debt with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).” In recent years, in addition to China, Belarus has also joined the list of countries with which the regime is incurring debt.
The document details that the 2026 budget includes 19,299.5 million córdobas for servicing public debt. The goal is to meet contractual commitments and obligations on time, both with external and internal creditors.
Most of this amount (14,881.5 million córdobas, equivalent to 406.4 million dollars) is planned to amortize external debt, mainly to multilateral organizations. Another 4,418.0 million is allocated to pay domestic debt (about 120.6 million dollars), mostly for repaying Republic of Nicaragua Bonds held by private-sector investors.
Another significant sum (13,274.8 million córdobas) will go toward paying interest and fees on both domestic and external public debt. The 2025 budget had allocated 11,364.1 million for these payments.
The Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS) will see its resources increase for 2026 to 8,125.3 million, more than three times the amount granted in 2025. The funds for the coming year are divided into 5,179.7 million in budget support, a state contribution of 2,849.9 million (up from 2,652.9 million in 2025), and 95.7 million for special pensions.
The expert noted that the allocated amount is “high, extremely significant, and will only worsen, because social security systems deteriorate over time.” This is due to a combination of an aging population, rising pensions, increasing administrative costs, poor investments, and the absence of technical reserves.
Chamorro pointed out that the INSS allocation has already surpassed those of the Supreme Court, the National Police, and the Army, and is slightly below that of universities. “It is a burden that is felt quite strongly,” he concluded.
