Competitive Operational Costs

Before setting up operations in a country, all companies must undertake a very important research and evaluation process, in which operation costs represent an influential role in the final result.

Nicaragua offers one of the most competitive cost structures in the region, enabling companies to increase their competitiveness by reducing operation costs and adding greater value to their products or services. This represents a great advantage for investors, as they aim to improve efficiency in production, maximize profits and expand profitability.

Telecommunications costs
In Nicaragua there are several telecommunication companies such as Claro and Movistar, which offer E1 phone service, which is widely used by companies that handle a high level of calls in their operations.

Additionally, they offer plans of advanced digital lines that include services such as call waiting, three-way conferencing, caller ID, voice mail and text messages (SMS). In such schemes the cost per minute for international calls to the U.S. and Canada are approximately USD$ 0.20 / min.

Internet Costs
The main suppliers of business connections in Nicaragua are Claro, Amnet, Navega, IBW, Ideay, among others. They offer various packages of dedicated enterprise data whose approximate average prices can range from USD$70 for a connection of 256 Kbps up to USD$640 by a connection of 3.072 Kbps. We highly recommend contacting the provider of your choice to quote the data package that best suits the needs and requirements of your business.

Water Service Costs
The Nicaraguan Aqueduct and Sewer Enterprise (ENACAL) is the entity responsible in providing the water and sewer service in the country. This company is regulated and controlled by the Nicaraguan Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (INAA). In Nicaragua, a company whose average monthly consumption is greater than 50 m³ of water will apply to an approximate fee of US$ 0.83 per m³. ENACAL also applies a fee for every m³ consumed to companies with private wells. For more information, visit www.enacal.com.ni

Energy Costs
In Nicaragua, the energy distribution service is provided by DISNORTE-DISSUR, and it is regulated by the Nicaraguan Energy Institute (INE). Industrial companies have the option to choose between power rates with or without time discrimination. For an industrial company with a monthly contracted load above 200 kW and under the category of without time discrimination, the cost per kWh would be USD$ 0.16 approximately and the capacity cost would be approximately USD$ 18.26 of KWh per month.

Additionally, a company whose minimum requirement is a concentrated load of one megawatt per month, can apply to the category of "Great Consumer", and get a special rate through direct purchase to energy generation enterprises. For more detailed information, visit www.ine.gob.ni