Skip to main content

Latin America ‘needs major investment in mass transit’

Latin America needs to invest heavily in mass transport services to improve living standards in urban areas, according to Norman Anderson, CEO of US-based consulting firm CG/LA Infrastructure. "Unless there is mobility, it's hard to imagine cities being successful, cities being creative, so one of the things we emphasised, and we think is really important, is the whole mobility issue," Anderson said in an interview. In its most recent report on strategic infrastructure projects in Latin America, CG/L
June 10, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Latin America needs to invest heavily in mass transport services to improve living standards in urban areas, according to Norman Anderson, CEO of US-based consulting firm 7796 CG/LA Infrastructure.

"Unless there is mobility, it's hard to imagine cities being successful, cities being creative, so one of the things we emphasised, and we think is really important, is the whole mobility issue," Anderson said in an interview.

In its most recent report on strategic infrastructure projects in Latin America, CG/LA put three metro projects among the top 10. They are Bogota's US$3.6 billion metro project, Panama City's US$2.8 billion line 3, and Metro de Quito's US$1.5 billion second phase.

"Those are three cities that are desperate for mobility because they have horrible traffic issues," Anderson said, ahead of CG/LA's infrastructure conference in Cartagena, Colombia.

According to the 5982 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin American countries are expected to invest some US$40 billion in metro projects by 2025.

Some other key projects in the region are the construction of line 3 and line 6 for Chilean capital Santiago's subway, the expansion of Brazil's São Paulo metro line 2, the expansion of Argentina's Buenos Aires line H, and the expansion of Mexico City's line 12.

In a recent report, CG/LA identified strategic urban mass transit projects worth US$14.1 billion.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cost of northern Colombia rail line US$1 billion says study
    March 18, 2015
    It would cost nearly US$1 billion to build a 260 kilometre rail line connecting cities in northern Colombia, according to a study by the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla. The proposed rail corridor would link Santa Marta, Barranquilla and Cartagena, which are home to the three biggest ports on the country's Caribbean coast. The train would function as a mixed service line, transporting passengers as well as cargo. "Some details need to be worked out regarding funding sources, which depends more on the
  • São Paulo unifies traffic data and services
    September 9, 2014
    The Agência de Transporte do Estado de São Paulo (ARTESP), which oversees public transportation for the State of São Paulo, Brazil, has opened its Information Control Centre, designed to help ensure the quality of service provided by local operators of the state's highways. The centre will unify traffic data, incident management and service delivery through the use of advanced analytics to help ensure safer and more efficient travel for a population of 20 million across 271 cities. The new system, built
  • Xerox takes youthful view of future transport
    August 23, 2016
    Xerox’s David Cummins talks to Colin Sowman about the lessons for city authorities from its survey of younger peoples’ attitude to transport. There can be no better way to get a handle on the future of transport demand than to ask the younger generation about how they view and consume today’s transport. Sociologists have called this group Generation Z – those born between 1995 and 2007 – which will make up 40% of all US consumers by 2020.
  • ITS America 2021: best of both worlds
    April 29, 2021
    ITS America’s rearranged Annual Meeting will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina, in early December. It is going to be Covid-safe and full of great content – both in-person and online