The World Bank has announced that it will lend Colombia U.S.$320 million to improve public transport and for the disposal of solid waste.
The loans are part of a development plan that seeks to benefit the vulnerable part of the population and seeks to improve their quality of life through access to efficient services, a press release by the World Bank said on Tuesday.
The first loan of U.S.$300 million will finance the Project of Integrated Mass Transit Systems. It seeks to develop the system of Rapid Transit Buses to increase the capacity of public transportation. The second loan of U.S.$20 million will be allocated to the Management Program of Solid Waste.
“We recognize the efforts of the [Colombian] government to implement counter-cyclical policies to reduce the effects of the crisis,” Axel van Trotsenburg, director of the World Bank for Colombia and Mexico told newspaper El Espectador.
“Both operations show the confidence of the institution in Colombia, it also represents the clear commitment we have with the country,” van Trotsenburg added.
The bank credit of U.S.$300 million is the third loan by the World Bank for the improvement of public transport in Colombia. The funding began in 2004 with a loan of U.S.$250 million.