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Prifa identifies $24M in unused proceeds from 2006 debt issuance

By on May 23, 2017

SAN JUAN — Almost 10 years following the transaction, Puerto Rico’s Infrastructure Financing Authority (Prifa) identified roughly $24 million in unused proceeds from a debt issuance carried out by the entity in 2006.

“Through a consolidation of different Prifa funding sources, [unused proceeds from] from bonds issued in 2006 for infrastructure projects and improvements to public schools have been identified,” revealed Tuesday Prifa’s executive director, Eduardo Rivera Cruz, who said the entity is in the process of identifying uses for the funds.

Caribbean Business asked why it took the government nearly 10 years to identify the $24 million in unused proceeds from the 2006 transaction. “It is a consolidation that was [recently] made in Prifa. Unfortunately, the past administration didn’t use them,” Rivera said.

He added that the $24 million in funds are deposited at the U.S. Bank, the public corporation’s trustee.

Both La Fortaleza’s infrastructure advisor, María Palou, and the head of AFI stated that they are evaluating the regional projects to be financed with the identified funds, in accordance with Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s public policy and his government platform, ”Plan for Puerto Rico.”

Rivera said that the use of funds will not be limited to improving schools, and could also be invested in improvements to hospitals and other infrastructure projects. He added that a task force already exists to identify which initiatives will have priority.

Prifa’s outstanding debt totals more than $2.2 billion, and the public corporation shapes up—along with other entities such as the Convention Center District Authority and the Metropolitan Bus Authority—as a possible candidate for bankruptcy under Title III of the federal Promesa law.

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