letter from the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador

29 October 2007

I received the following letter today.




Embassy of the United States of America
Economic Section
Tel: (503) 2501-2999 FAX: 2501-2775
San Salvador, El Salvador
October 23, 2007

Dear Pat:

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the purchase of scrap railroad equipment in
El Salvador. Recently, the Government of El Salvador (GOES) has announced
That it intends to revive its railroad system, as part of its ports modernization and
concession programs. They recently re-started a passenger train service
Between San Salvador and Apopa and hope to eventually use the system to ship
Cargo between the ports in El Salvador and other Central American ports, and
beyond.

The current railroad system is in a state of disrepair and is narrow gauge. It will
probably have to be converted to a standard gauge system. The GOES would
like to include the railroad system as part of its port concession solicitation. The
GOES entity involved in that solicitation is the Comision Ejecutive Portuaria
Autonoma (CEPA), in English, The Autonomous Executive Port Commission.
The President of CEPA is Hugo Barrera and the address of their headquarters is:
Edificio Torre Roble, Blvd. Los Heroes, Metrocentro, San Salvador, El Salvador,
C.A. – Apartado Postal: 2667. The main telephone number is (503) 2218-1300
and their website is [www.cepa.gob.sv]. You may wish to contact them for further
information about the railroad system.

In your letter you addressed me as the Commercial attaché. I am actually the
Economic Counselor and am principally involved in economic policy issues.
There is also a Commercial Attaché for El Salvador, Mary Boscia, who can also
Be reached at the Embassy. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Regards

Donn-Allen G. Titus
Economic Counselor