Nicaragua and Japan on Wednesday signed an 8.3-million-U.S.-dollar agreement to build four bridgesin the center and Atlantic coast areas of this Central Americannation, officials told a press conference.

Once completed, the bridges will link the nation's south Atlantic and Pacific, helping farmers, traders and businessmen,who use heavy vehicles to import and export products internationally.

The new bridges will replace four existing bridges, which areolder than the 50 years they were expected to last and have become dilapidated.

The agreement was signed by Nicaragua's Foreign Minister Samuel Santos and Japan's ambassador to Nicaragua Shinichi Saito.Japan, which has built 15 bridges on Nicaragua's main highway, has also offered the country 25 million to 30 million dollars tospend on education, health and infrastructure.