Budget for San Francisco Plaza renovation project may be cut in half

The Development Bank of Ecuador (BDE) says it will only provide $3.4 million of the $6.8 million originally budgeted for the San Francisco Plaza project. The bank says the reduction is due to the fact that the city has failed to provide documentation proving the “economic sustainability” of the project.

Architect’s design for San Francisco Plaza.

As of Tuesday afternoon, city officials had not responded to the BDE’s funding reduction announcement and it was not clear if the the full budget can be restored if new documentation is provided.

Most of the project funding is earmarked for renovation of buildings surrounding the plaza. Plaza renovation itself will cost less than two million dollars.