Colombia’s transport minister has announced that the government and private businesses will invest a total of $18 billion in upgrading the country’s transport infrastructure over the next four years.
Minister German Cardona said the investment will be used to facilitate navigation through Colombia by improving roads, seaports, railways, airports and river transport, RCN radio reported Friday.
In regards to the decision, Cardona said that, “The resources are there; the president’s promise to sell some of the state’s shares in Ecopetrol, the redistribution of royalties, the national budget and investment from private companies are the sources of the investment.”
Nearly $11 billion of the government money is destined for roadway projects, $3.6 billion for urban transport, and $1.1 billion towards facilitating access to seaports.
Of the remaining few billion, $964 million is allocated to maritime and river transport, $794 million will be put into the railway network and $576 million is to be spent on airports and air transport.
Plans to build a second Bogota airport, a project partly funded by investment from commercial airlines, got underway in March.