Skip to main content

Latin America projected to invest in metro systems

Latin American countries are expected to invest some US$40 billion in metro projects by 2025, according to a report from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). "In total, they will build or expand more than US$40bn in 20 projects," stated the report entitled Latin America and the Caribbean in 2025. The report, Latin America and the Caribbean 2015, indicates that some of the projects include construction of line 3 and line 6 in Chilean capital Santiago's subway, expansion of Brazil's São Paulo met
April 22, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Latin American countries are expected to invest some US$40 billion in metro projects by 2025, according to a report from the 5982 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

"In total, they will build or expand more than US$40bn in 20 projects," stated the report entitled Latin America and the Caribbean in 2025.

The report, Latin America and the Caribbean 2015, indicates that some of the projects include construction of line 3 and line 6 in Chilean capital Santiago's subway, expansion of Brazil's São Paulo metro line 2, construction of line 2 of Panama City's metro, expansion of Argentina's Buenos Aires line H, expansion of Mexico City's line 12 and construction of phase II of Ecuador capital Quito's US$15 billion subway project.

Aside from metro systems, the IDB expects a large-scale roll out of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems across the region. Some 60 cities in the region currently have BRT systems but this number is expected to "grow even more," to include emerging and intermediate cities.

The prevalence of non-motorised transport arrangements such as bicycle sharing or self-service systems are also expected to rise sharply by 2025.

The Mexico City Ecobici system currently reports some 30,000 journeys each day and 17 cities in the region are planning to introduce similar systems.

While public transport systems are expected to increase, so is the use of the car. The IDB predicts that Latin American cities will have roughly 140 million cars in 2025, an increase of 80 million from 2010.

Related Content

  • February 6, 2020
    US braces itself for congestion pain
    Mary Scott Nabers, author of Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, looks at how different US states are embracing the need for public transport investment
  • December 3, 2018
    Public transit is weapon in US congestion war
    Public transit is a huge component of US transportation, insists Mary Scott Nabers, CEO of Strategic Partnerships – and infrastructure upgrades have the potential to create thousands of jobs When it comes to public transportation, the US lags far behind other countries. Governments in Europe, Asia and Canada invest heavily in public transportation because it is viewed as an essential public good. The US government, however, views public transit a little differently and funding has been inadequate for d
  • August 27, 2014
    Brazil-Argentina to build São Paulo monorail
    A Brazilian-Argentine consortium, ABC Integrado, is to build, operate and maintain the US$1.84 billion metro line 18 monorail in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The consortium, which was the sole bidder for the contract, is made up of local engineering group Primav, which controls highway operator EcoRodovias, local construction companies Encalso and Cowan, and Argentina's Benito Roggio Transportes. The 25-year concession calls for building a 15 kilometre monorail, with 13 stations from São Paulo city
  • April 9, 2014
    Brazil opts for freeflow tolling
    David Crawford explores the technical background of Brazil’s First multi-lane free-flow tolling system. The 2013 opening of Brazil’s first fully-operational, all-vehicle, multi-lane free-flow (MLFF) tolling system in the state of São Paolo has set the scene for a new phase of modern electronic fee collection (EFC) deployment in Latin America’s largest country. It has toll programmes at both federal and state levels, with São Paulo – the most populous state, with the largest road network – leading in the awa