Reuters reports on The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF)  offer to Panama of around $2 billion in loans for a range of infrastructure and other development projects over the next five years.

The projects will focus on energy, transportation, health and education and also include clean-up work in the Panama Bay and a major electricity interconnection project with Colombia, Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela and Enrique Garcia, head of the Caracas-based CAF, said in a joint declaration.

The financing is aimed at helping the Central American nation maintain robust, long-term economic growth, which has averaged about 8.5 percent over the past decade. (Reporting by Elida Moreno; Editing by Christian Plumb)