Special Emergency Law on Road Infrastructure, Flood Control and Strengthening of Municipal Governments for the Maintenance of Tertiary Road Networks and Productive Roads

The purpose of this Law is to establish exceptional, urgent, and temporary measures for:

• 1)

  The immediate execution of operations throughout the country, provisional pothole repair and preventive road maintenance prior to Holy Week and the upcoming rainy season;

• 2)

  Dredging for flood control, repair and construction of embankments;

• 3)

  Construction and expansion of bridges; and,

• 4)

  The implementation of the Special Program for the Acquisition of machinery and equipment for Municipal Governments, intended for the maintenance of urban, rural, and productive roads. When a highway is part of the National Road Network, mayors are authorized to repair or reconstruct highways without civil liability on the part of the Court of Accounts (TSC).

A STATE OF NATIONAL ROAD EMERGENCY is declared, of a temporary nature, exclusively for the purposes of maintenance and pothole repair of the primary and secondary road network, signaling, cleaning, dredging of riverbeds, as well as the treatment, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of embankments at the national level, both in the rivers that converge with those areas and in the interconnection or relief channels of the road network system, as well as to carry out maintenance activities in stormwater drainage systems (ditches, channels, sewers, stream beds, rivers, and fords) to prevent damages such as flooding in populated and productive areas, overflows, and deterioration of infrastructure resulting from the impact of rainy periods. THE STATE OF NATIONAL ROAD EMERGENCY shall be for a period of one (1) year from the publication of this Decree and shall be exclusively destined for the execution, continuation, and conclusion of all projects that have been duly contracted under the same, and may be extended by the National Congress at the request of the Executive Branch.

The Executive Branch is authorized, through the Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT), to immediately execute on the primary and secondary road network:

• 1)

  Provisional pothole repair operations;

• 2)

  Preventive road maintenance and provisional signaling for road safety;

• 3)

  Dredging for flood control, repair and construction of embankments; and, 4) Construction and expansion of bridges. For which priority will be given to highways with high vehicular traffic, tourist routes, productive regions, accesses and exits to cities, and logistics corridors. Likewise, the Executive Branch is authorized, through the Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT), to immediately and directly execute the following priority works:

  • 1)

    Construction of a bridge parallel to the Germania Bridge, with its respective approaches, given the high traffic on the South Exit of the Capital of the Republic;

  • 2)

    Construction of the failed lane of the elevated "Juan Manuel Gálvez" Bridge at the intersection of the Perimeter Ring, October 21 District, of the Capital of the Republic; and,

  • 3)

    Expansion of the bridges on Highway CA-13 between the municipalities of Progreso and Tela, located at kilometer 1, kilometer 2.4, kilometer 4.1, kilometer 5.9, and kilometer 8.3; to convert this high-traffic section into four lanes, increasing road capacity and reducing vehicular congestion.

For the purposes of this Decree, the Executive Branch is authorized, through the Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT), to use the direct contracting procedure for all goods and services necessary for strict compliance with this Law, as a fundamental part of the infrastructure to be addressed with priority character, which includes provisional pothole repair, preventive road maintenance and provisional signaling, dredging for flood control and construction and expansion of bridges, as well as cleaning, dredging of riverbeds, treatment, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of embankments at the national level, both in the rivers that converge with those areas and in the interconnection or relief channels of the road network system, as well as to carry out maintenance activities in stormwater drainage systems (ditches, channels, sewers, stream beds, rivers, and fords) to prevent damages such as flooding in populated and productive areas, overflows, and deterioration of infrastructure resulting from the impact of rainy periods.

The SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR THE ACQUISITION AND ALLOCATION OF MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT FOR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS is hereby created, attached to the Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT), consisting of the temporary or permanent allocation of basic machinery, tools, and equipment for maintenance and assurance of roads, which shall include, at a minimum:

• 1)

  A tracked tractor;

• 2)

  A motor grader;

• 3)

  A backhoe excavator;

• 4)

  A vibratory compactor;

• 5)

  A water tank;

• 6)

  Two dump trucks; and,

• 7)

  An excavator. The Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT) shall be responsible for establishing the criteria, specifications, and technical capacities thereof. The capacities and dimensions of the machinery shall be determined based on the needs of each municipality to achieve the greatest effectiveness in the fulfillment of this Law. Machinery and equipment intended for maintenance, rehabilitation, and improvement of the national, urban, and rural road network, which are assigned to municipalities or other public entities within the framework of this Law, must be subject obligatorily to a comprehensive mechanism of insurance, custody, preventive and corrective maintenance, in order to guarantee its continuous, efficient, and sustainable use over time. Said mechanism must contemplate the contracting of insurance policies that cover damages, loss, theft, losses, and civil liability arising from its operation; as well as the formal designation of an official responsible for its custody and proper use; the execution of maintenance plans in accordance with technical specifications; the replacement of parts worn or damaged by prolonged use; and the complete replacement of equipment in case of irreparable damage, ensuring the operational continuity of the program and equipment.

With the SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR THE ACQUISITION AND ALLOCATION OF MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT FOR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS, the 298 Municipal Governments of the country shall be beneficiaries, in accordance with a strategic planning carried out by the Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT), without any political or partisan discrimination, following prior execution between the parties of agreements regarding use, maintenance, control, and accountability that shall be implemented and correspond. The machinery and equipment acquired for the execution of this special acquisition program shall not be subject to any type of judicial attachment.

The acquisition of machinery and equipment may be carried out through direct contracting based on the consolidated law in accordance with what is established in the second paragraph of Article 5, with the objective of expediting the process, obtaining preferential prices for volume, and guaranteeing efficiency in the use of public resources, respecting the principles of legality, transparency, accountability, and control, with all processes to be documented in accordance with current regulations, without prejudice to donations that the State may manage and receive, guaranteeing the optimization of resources and the financial sustainability thereof.

Machinery and equipment must be acquired exclusively through reliable companies, legally established, national and/or foreign, with proven experience, that offer legal security, financial solidity and backing, accessible prices, warranty, maintenance and technical support, having the highest experience in the sale of this type of machinery, workshops, certificates, extensive availability and qualified technical personnel in the field.

The machinery and equipment acquired may be assigned to the Municipal Governments of the country in accordance with population, territorial, technical criteria and their needs, prioritizing those with the greatest road infrastructure deficit. Two or more municipalities, including intermunicipal associations, in relation to the size of their territory, population, geographic location, availability of financial and technical personnel resources, may associate or execute agreements that allow for the assignment of machinery or equipment jointly to achieve greater efficiency in its use. The Executive Branch, through the Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT), may reassign equipment or machinery that is not being used or that is being used for purposes different from those for which it was originally assigned.

Tax and/or customs exemptions and exonerations are authorized, with an exceptional and temporary character, exclusively for the importation of machinery, equipment, spare parts, components, and supplies indispensable and directly intended for compliance with the objectives of this Law, in direct relation with the SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR THE ACQUISITION OF MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT FOR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS, being prohibited its use for purposes different or unrelated to the authorized purpose. Tax and/or customs exemptions and exonerations must be obligatorily granted within timeframes and by means of procedures that are totally effective and simplified that guarantee strict compliance and in a timely manner of this Law and shall not constitute in any case a general benefit for importers, distributors, or marketers, and may only be granted when the imported goods are verifiably incorporated into programs, projects, or works executed by public institutions or municipalities in strict application of this Law. The responsible entities must establish simplified procedures of control, registration, and verification of the final destination of exempted goods. The savings amounts obtained through exemptions must be reflected in the final price offered by the supplying companies to the State.

All institutions of the Executive Branch responsible for infrastructure projects and public works are hereby instructed that for the processes of contracting and construction of such works to be carried out in an agile and expedited manner, with those responsible being able to use, in whole or in part or as reference, provisions contained in Decree No. 58-2011, containing the Special Law for the Simplification of Public Infrastructure Investment Procedures dated May 18, 2011, and published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" on July 13, 2011.

The contracts and agreements executed under the terms of this Law, both to address the STATE OF NATIONAL ROAD EMERGENCY and for the SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR THE ACQUISITION AND ALLOCATION OF MUNICIPAL MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT, shall be executed seeking to obtain the most advantageous conditions in price and quality for the Public Administration and shall be subject to the approval and audit processes provided for by the Constitution and the Laws of the Republic, and must be notified to the Court of Accounts (TSC).

All processes and contracting derived from this Law shall be subject obligatorily to:

• 1)

  Preventive control;

• 2)

  Concurrent control;

• 3)

  Subsequent audit by the Court of Accounts (TSC); and,

• 4)

  Constant and mandatory publication of all processes on the transparency portals or pages of the related institutions, Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT), municipalities, intermunicipal associations, or any other entity. The Secretariat of State for Infrastructure and Transportation (SIT) must report every three (3) months to the National Congress the progress and results in relation to the application of this Law, which shall be analyzed and verified by a special commission appointed by the President of the National Congress.

The Secretariat of State for the Office of Finance (SEFIN) must create and allocate a specific budget item intended for the effective and timely execution of this Law, guaranteeing the availability of funds and their proper administration. The budget line intended for the Road Network of the "Productive Roads" Program shall not be affected by the application of this Law.

To guarantee the strict and timely compliance of this Law, everything not provided for herein or that requires further specification and/or development, provided it does not contradict or violate its provisions, may be approved by Executive Decree of the President of the Republic in Council of Secretaries of State.

This Decree shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the tenth day of the month of February of two thousand twenty-six. JOSÉ TOMÁS ZAMBRANO MOLINA PRESIDENT CARLOS ROBERTO LEDEZMA CASCO SECRETARY FRANCIS OMAR CABRERA M. SECRETARY To the Executive Branch Therefore: Execute Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., February 12, 2026 NASRY JUAN ASFURA ZABLAH PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC SECRETARIAT OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY.