Route 24 (Bolivia)

Route 24
Ruta 24
Route information
Length	260 km (160 mi)
Major junctions
West end	Villa Tunari
East end	San Ignacio de Moxos
Location
Country	Bolivia
Highway system
Highways of Bolivia National Roads
← Route 23 → Route 25

The Villa Tunari – San Ignacio de Moxos Highway, also known as the Cochabamba–Beni Highway is a road project in Bolivia connecting the towns of Villa Tunari (in Cochabamba Department) and San Ignacio de Moxos (in Beni Department). It would provide the first direct highway link between the two departments. The project has an expected overall cost of $415 million and extends 306 kilometres (190 mi), divided into three segments: Segment I from Villa Tunari to Isinuta (47 km or 29 mi), Segment II from Isinuta to Monte Grande (177 km or 110 mi), and Segment III from Monte Grande to San Ignacio de Moxos (82 km or 51 mi).^[1] Opposition to the highway by local indigenous communities, environmentalists, as well as shifting relations between the Bolivian government and the project's builders and funders interrupted construction of Segment I from October 2011 until October 2013, indefinitely delayed Segment II, and postponed construction of Segment III until June 2015. Segment II will proceed after the government has promised to raise living standards in the area.

While the highway has been discussed for decades, a $332 million loan from Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), approved by Bolivia in 2011, facilitated the start of construction.^[1] Under the terms of the loan, the Brazilian construction firm OAS was to build the road. In June 2011, President Evo Morales inaugurated the project with a ceremony at Villa Tunari. However, neither a final design nor environmental approval had been released for Segment II. Opposition from indigenous residents in the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS) and environmentalists led to a protracted public conflict about the highway, ending with the prohibition of highway passing through the park. President Morales has stated that the controversy over the highway has "instilled fear" in potential financial backers of other highway projects in the country.^[2]

The government has remained publicly committed to the project while revising its timeline. The segment of the road from Villa Tunari to Insinuta was built between 2013 and 2016; the northern segment from Monte Grande and San Ignacio de Moxos is under construction. While Segment II within TIPNIS remains prohibited, initial construction work on the highway there was carried out in 2017. An August 2017 law repealed special protections for the park and authorized the drafting of a transportation plan for TIPNIS.