The Pacific Airport in El Salvador has already surpassed 60% completion: $113 million more in 2027 and a delivery date that raises doubts

CAF confirmed the overall progress of the project in Conchagua following a visit by its executive president. Photo courtesy of the Press Secretariat. The works on the Pacific International Airport, in La Unión, have already surpassed 60% overall completion, according to the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), a multilateral development organization, following a visit by its executive president, Sergio Díaz-Granados, at the end of September. That progress comes in parallel with a new injection of funds that the Autonomous Executive Port Commission (CEPA) plans for 2027. According to the state company's draft budget, consulted by El Mundo, the agency will allocate $113.71 million to the construction of the air terminal next year. The figure breaks down into $98.82 million in external financing and $14.88 million from the institution's own funds. CEPA maintains, according to the newspaper, that the investment seeks to "guarantee the execution of the Pacific International Airport investment project according to its planning, meeting the highest standards, and to encourage economic development in the country and generate a development hub in the east." The Pacific International Airport is being built in the El Ciprés canton, in the municipality of Conchagua, in the department of La Unión. The works began in January 2025, and the first phase of the project involves a total investment of $386.4 million. That first stage includes a passenger terminal, a 2,400-meter-long runway, and a 12,000-square-meter aircraft parking apron. The Pacific International Airport is being built in the El Ciprés canton, in the municipality of Conchagua, in the department of La Unión. Photo courtesy of the Press Secretariat. The plan also includes taxiways, a control tower, and complementary airport facilities, according to the draft budget cited by El Mundo. CEPA projects that the terminal will receive 365,000 passengers per year in its first phase of operations, a flow that the state company expects to increase progressively. In early October, CEPA reported 30% progress on the construction, according to the newspaper. That percentage covered foundation work, the basement, the first-level slab, walls, columns, and roofing, as well as four footings that will support the terminal's steel structure. The work in that stage also included the placement and compaction of the first layers of pavement, both on the runway and on the aircraft parking apron. However, CEPA's figure does not match the one used by CAF. The financial organization reported that the project's overall progress already exceeds 60%, a figure that corresponds to the entire works and should not be confused with partial measurements of specific stages, such as the 85% in earthworks that the agency had reported in April. The difference between the two percentages is due to the fact that they measure different components of the construction. While the April figure was limited to earthmoving work, CAF's reflects the combined status of all the infrastructure, including the passenger terminal. CEPA projects that the terminal will receive 365,000 passengers per year in its first phase of operations, a flow that the state company expects to increase progressively. Photo courtesy of the Press Secretariat. On October 8, CEPA shared a video on its social media showing the assembly of the steel structure of the terminal building, along with a general view of the runway. The institution itself described the works as a project "that will mark a new era for the eastern zone." The draft budget reviewed by El Mundo maintains the forecast that the terminal will be ready during the first half of 2027. That projection, however, contrasts with information published by other specialized media, which place the start of operations only in the second half of that year. Neither CEPA nor CAF has publicly confirmed a definitive and updated completion date, despite the progress reported in recent weeks. The draft budget also allocates $5 million to improving the electrical infrastructure of the international terminal and $3.5 million to building a wastewater treatment plant. Photo courtesy of the Presidency Secretariat. Beyond La Unión, the draft budget contemplates $23.30 million for the rehabilitation and modernization of the San Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International Airport of El Salvador and the Ilopango International Airport, according to the document cited by the newspaper. CEPA's planning adds to a modernization program for the San Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez Airport financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) with $195 million, whose second tender — to expand the passenger terminal — opened on October 8, with a deadline for submitting bids until November 20. The draft budget also allocates $5 million to improving the electrical infrastructure of the international terminal and $3.5 million to building a wastewater treatment plant. Another $3.5 million is added for the lighting control system on the runway and taxiway of that same airport. For Ilopango, the document provides $11.30 million for the improvement and equipment of the terminal. Overall, the draft budget sets a total public investment portfolio of $137.01 million for CEPA during the 2027 fiscal year, according to the newspaper.