CAF grants credit to Colombia for 7,000 million dollars

2023-07-22 08:00:01

CAF and the Ministry of Finance of Colombia presented the country strategy Colombia 2023 – 2026, for which 7,000 million dollars will be available, of which 255 million dollars will be used to finance the second line of the Bogotá Metro.

This year is expected to close with an approval of close to 700 million dollars, of which 500 million dollars have already been approved. In the case of the Metro, there will be a four-year grace period and 15 years of financing.

Sergio Díaz-Granados, executive president of CAF, assured that “from 2000 to 2022 we have provided 27.7 billion dollars for Colombia. The credit portfolio is currently at 3.8 billion dollars”. He also pointed out that the strategy is based on four axes and is anchored to the National Development Plan.

First, to promote opportunities and promote urban-rural convergence to improve the quality of life of the population. Then, it seeks to promote sustainable productive transformation through physical connectivity and logistics functionality, here comes the incorporation into global value chains with a focus on energy transition.

The third point is the strategy to promote human development and equity in terms of health services, education, water, sanitation, digital connectivity and work skills. Finally, there is institutional strengthening and modernization, an area in which digital transformation enters.

Transportation infrastructure is one of the most relevant components. The Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, explained that CAF approved for physical works, but also for inclusive policies.

“One part is for the second line of the Metro and today we are seeing that it is probably necessary to finish financing the first line,” he said. And he added that “in the second half of this year we will make a joint effort. Some projects are road infrastructure, some in Findeter, others in Invias, others in local governments, all require an effort to achieve financial closure”.

On May 15, 2023, the selection process for the construction of the Line 2 project of the Bogotá Metro began. However, at the request of the interested parties, the term was extended and applications to participate in the prequalification phase will now be received until August 11.

According to data from the Bogotá Metro Company, since then the data room has been available on the entity’s website, where more than 2,600 accesses by interested parties have been evidenced; and there has been a download that exceeds 90,000.