El Salvador is receiving a major infrastructure investment that is expected to help build the country’s future-oriented “Bitcoin City.”
The government said Sunday that Turkish holding company Ilport will invest $1.62 billion in two seaports in El Salvador, the largest private investment in the country’s history.
“This is a joint venture with Ilport Co., Ltd. [El Salvador]The government has announced that it will operate both ports for the next 50 years. Video Statement Salvadoran President Najib Bukele made the announcement on Monday. The agreement is the culmination of Bukele’s planned visit to Turkey in 2022.
One of the ports involved is the Port of Acajutla, which handles most of Peru’s exports to the country, including coffee, sugar, and balsamic salt. The other is the unused and abandoned Port of La Union, located on the site where Bitcoin City is planned to be built.
Stacey Herbert, head of El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office, retweeted a statement saying the project would create “thousands of direct and indirect jobs” and “further investment in underlying local infrastructure.”
Herbert’s husband, Max Keiser, a member of the Bitcoin Office, characterized the deal as an infrastructure investment for Bitcoin City: “Bukele’s trip to Turkey paid off big time!” Written “Qatar on deck,” he posted on Twitter.
Bitcoin City was first proposed in November 2021 as a tax-free city that would be funded by bitcoin mining powered by local volcanoes rather than the private power grid. Potential Architectural Model The city is scheduled to complete the work in May 2022, but little has been said about the project since then.
The city was set to raise the funds through El Salvador’s long-awaited “Bitcoin Bond,” but the fundraising has been postponed multiple times. However, the country has found alternative funding sources, including a renewable Bitcoin mining partnership with Tether and a “Freedom Visa” program offered to generous, wealthy Bitcoin users.
According to the Bitcoin Office: WebsiteEl Salvador currently holds 5840.76 BTC, valued at approximately $345 million, and continues to add 1 BTC each day.
Editor: Ryan Ozawa.
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