Skip to main content

Colombia approves highway plan funding

Colombia has approved US$13.4 billion in funding for nine highway projects, part of a master plan to revamp and expand Latin America's fourth largest road network. All nine projects are part of the Autopistas para la Prosperidad program, which involves the construction of some 838 kilometres of two-lane highways, 63 kilometres of bridges and 90 kilometres of tunnels. The government also decided to finance directly the construction of Toyo tunnel, ruling out the concession framework for that project.
March 10, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

Colombia has approved US$13.4 billion in funding for nine highway projects, part of a master plan to revamp and expand Latin America's fourth largest road network.

All nine projects are part of the Autopistas para la Prosperidad program, which involves the construction of some 838 kilometres of two-lane highways, 63 kilometres of bridges and 90 kilometres of tunnels.

The government also decided to finance directly the construction of Toyo tunnel, ruling out the concession framework for that project.

"Nine projects have been approved, eight of them will be under a public-private partnership and one will be entirely financed by the state," president Juan Manuel Santos said in a public speech in western Antioquia department.

Conexión Norte, a US$500 million, 146 kilometre highway in north-west Colombia is scheduled to be awarded in the first quarter. In the second quarter, national infrastructure agency ANI will name the winners in the tenders for Conexión Pacífico 1, Río Magdalena 2 and Conexión Pacífico 3, among other projects, for more than US$2.5 billion.

Río Magdalena 1, Autopista al Mar 1 and Autopista al Mar 2 are planned to be awarded in the third quarter for US$2.66 billion.

Colombia plans to award at least 25 highway projects in 2014 under a US$21 billion plan dubbed 4G. 

Related Content

  • Silos are last century’s thinking
    April 21, 2016
    After 45 years in transportation, Ken Philmus sees the need for major change in a sector currently ill-prepared to meet the challenge of funding and rapidly advancing technological change. Having worked in both the public and private sectors, Ken Philmus, currently senior vice president of transportation solutions at Xerox, appreciates both approaches, but times are changing and he believes the sector needs to change too. “I like trains, planes and automobiles but I love the concept of mobility and that’s w
  • New York pioneers online mobile real-time bus tracking
    May 22, 2012
    An unusual technology collaboration. David Crawford investigates Early in January 2012, the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) rolled out the first borough-wide implementation of its pioneering Bus Time online mobile real-time tracking service. The system allow commuters to track each bus on every route in real-time on the internet, via smartphones and by text messaging to a mobile phone. The MTA chose Staten Island for its first live launch due to it being the only one of the five Ne
  • The inside story of how traffic chaos was avoided after I-95 collapse
    August 23, 2023
    June’s collapse of major US roadway I-95 in Pennsylvania could have caused lengthy traffic chaos. But - relatively speaking at least - it didn’t and gridlock was avoided. Alan Dron finds out why
  • JV wins multi-billion dollar West Gate Tunnel project
    April 11, 2017
    CPB Contractors has been selected by Australian toll road operator Transurban as the preferred contractor to deliver Victoria’s multi-billion dollar West Gate Tunnel Project in a joint venture with John Holland. The West Gate Tunnel Project will address a number of critical challenges in relation to traffic, growth and liveability across Melbourne. Design and construction works include widening the West Gate Freeway from eight lanes to 12 between the M80 Ring Road and Williamstown Road, as well as bui