Nicaragua hopes to receive $160 million in investment to build a synthetic textiles manufacturing plant in a bid to potentially double its export value to $2 billion by 2020.
The news was shared by government officials this week revealing that the Central American nation is currently in talks with several foreign textile firms as possible backers of Nicaragua's high-tech textiles base.
According to an article published by Just-Style, one of the firms is an unnamed Peruvian supplier, who already plans to install a synthetics factory in Nicaragua - the largest of its kind since 2010.
Carlos Zuniga, vice general of Corporacion Zona Franca said Nicaragua "wants to build a factory, starting with a cotton and synthetics dyeing and finishing facility."
According to Zuniga, the current production space in Nicaragua for exports equates to 400 square meters for knitwear and woven apparel. But it imports 30% of the fabrics needed to make these garments. So to meet production requirements for current and future exports - as well as the domestic apparel market - the country needs to install around 300 square meters of production capacity.
"We need $160 million," Zuniga told Just-Style, emphasising that Nicaragua is expect of further investment from foreign mills and then this having a draw card effect on other foreign fabric makers.
"Investors will see there are new investments in the types of fabric they use for their garments," he added. "And when they think where to go in [Central America] they will choose Nicaragua."
If all goes to plan, and the multiplication of foreign investment does occur, Nicaragua could hit $2 billion in export value by 2020.
But this year has seen the industry hit by the United States removal of the Tariff Preference Level (TPL) provision, which made exports drop 5% to $1.3bn last year.
The biggest export markets for Nicaragua are the US with Canada and South Korea on the horizon for 2016.