Cartagena inks financing deal for flood control project

City authorities in Cartagena de Indias sealed a deal with Colombia's disaster risk management office UNGRD to finance a 160bn-peso (US$51mn) project to prevent floods caused by increasing sea levels on the city's coastline.

Mayor Pedrito Pereira said that his administration will provide 60bn pesos of the sum, while the remaining 100bn will come from the national government, the mayor's office said in a press release.

Meanwhile, the UNGRD said in a separate statement that, of the 100bn pesos provided by the national government, half will come from this year's budget and the rest is being reviewed by fiscal policy council CONFIS.

The project entails works across a 7.7km section of the Bolivar departmental capital's seafront. A full 5.2km of sea walls will be built, alongside 10 new groynes and three new wave breakers, while two existing wave breakers will be repaired.

Other works include the installation of a drainage system and hydraulic fill to combat erosion.