Two PPP initiatives vying for Colombia's busiest corridor

Colombian highway concessionaire Infrastructura Concesionada (Infracon) has put forward a 2.4tn-peso (US$993mn) public-private partnership (PPP) to add a third lane to the highway between the municipality of Girardot and capital Bogotá.

The project would involve building a third land for 132km and carrying out maintenance works on 151km of highway on the Bogota-Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca department) corridor, with works expected to last five years, said the president of the national infrastructure agency (ANI) Luis Fernando Andrade.

The corridor, reported to be the busiest in Colombia, is currently operated by concessionaire Autopista Bogotá Girardot (CABG).

A second PPP has been proposed by the China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), which could be joined by Mexico's Cemex, calling for a 1tn-peso project as a means of decongesting the road corridor, local newspaper Portafolio reported.

The proposal considers the construction of a 10km express viaduct linking Soacha, a city located on the western outskirts of Bogotá, with the Ruta 68 highway.

According to newspaper Portafolio, experts have questioned the possibility of adding a third lane to the highway, citing variations in the road that mean that some parts can only be transited at 30km/h, while others involve speeds of up to 120km/h.

CABG's concession is due to end in September, the daily reported.