The Charter Cities in Honduras

1. The Special Development
Regions of Honduras

2. In the middle of the Americas…

3. …in the middle of the World

4. An exciting opportunity
is opening…

5. In January of this 2011 the Honduran Congress
amended the country’s Constitution to allow for
the establishment of Special Development
Regions.
This amendment will be ratified by Congress
within the next twelve months to become
effective.

6. What are they?
 The Special Development Regions are created in
order to attract high-value-added services and
industries to the country.
 They can be use to accommodate the needs of one
or more industry clusters.
 There will be at least two of them.
 They will be developed as private public
partnerships.
 Their size will vary. Ideally they will cover an area
between 200-1,000 km2.
 They will be established in isolated and unpopulated
areas were urban infrastructures, ports and airport
facilities can be built.

7. A region created to do business…
 The Special Development Regions will issue their
own rules, more efficient and investment friendly
than the ones used today in the rest of the country.
 The rules applicable in these regions will incorporate
the best practices available today for each of the
different industries that decide to operate in that
area.

8. …governed by a Charter
 Each Special Development Regions will be
governed by a Charter with unlimited duration.
 The Charter will be approved by a supermajority
of the Honduran Congress.
 Each Charter can only be amended, changed or
repeal if it’s authorize by the people living in the
Special Autonomous Region.
 As a public private partnership investors can be
involved in the drafting of the charter to make
sure international standards are met.

9. …with administrative and judicial
autonomy
 The Special Development Regions will enjoy a high
degree of autonomy, including the authority to
appoint their own administration, their own judges
and their own police force.
 All those officials will be appointed in an open and
competitive process that guarantees the selection of
the best persons.

10. Incentives
• Complete foreign ownership of land and companies
will be allowed.
• Tax incentives.
• A business oriented local authority that facilitates
obtaining all kinds of licenses to operate.
• Use of international best practices to regulate, when
needed, certain industries (i.e., banking, telecomm,
etc).

11. Opportunities for Investors
• The Special Development Regions will be
developed as a public private partnership.
It will offer opportunities in:
• Investment, building and operating utilities
companies.
• Port expansion, airport building and operation.
• Financing and building other types of
Infrastructure.

12. Possible sites

13. Port of Castilla / Sico-Paulaya
Valley
• Deepest natural port in
Central America.
• Mostly uninhabited.
• Most of the land is
owned by the
government.
• 1,000 km2.

14. Port of Amapala / Southern Cone
• Deepest port in the
Central American Pacific.
• Between El Salvador and
Nicaragua.
• Most of the area is owned
by the government.
• 650-1,000 km2

15. Possible developments

16. Special Development
Region

17. Special Development
Regions

18. Special Development
Region
Special Development
Region

19. Country Advantages
 A unique geographical position.
 No seismic or volcanic activity.
 Honduras is one of the ten countries in the world
with coasts on more than one ocean.
 Enough land to allow for several of these Special
Development Regions.
 The largest bilingual (Spanish/English) population
in Central America.
 Deepest ports in Central America.
 500 miles away from the USA (2 hour flight, 3 days
by ship).