This June in Medellin, Colombia, over 150 directors from all of Latin America’s major urban and rail projects will meet to identify the strategies, financing options and technology required to deliver major new projects.
The event will include roundtable discussions, networking lunches, technology exhibitions, site visits and technical presentations delivered by senior industry leaders.
Colombia’s capital Bogota presented a completely new plan for a one-line and above-ground metro some 70 years after such mass transit system was first proposed. The mayor and the president on Saturday proposed a completely revised above-ground metro line that goes from the Las Americas terminal in the west of the city over the Avenue Primer de Mayo to the eastern Avenue Caracas.
As the Bogota Metro discussion on underground or overground metro lines continue, we sat down with directors from Lima Metro, Valparaiso Metro, Bombardier Transportation and Bahia Metro during the Metro LatAm 2016 conference, in Medellin, Colombia, to get their advise. Each expert breaks down the pros and cons of each option, and a broad consensus is reached across all of our experts.
El alcalde Mayor de Bogotá, Enrique Peñalosa, reiteró que en su gobierno se construirá la primera línea del metro de Bogotá.Su anuncio fue hecho durante el panel ‘¿Qué sucederá en Bogotá?’, en el Foro Colombia 2016, donde además el alcalde dijo que el sistema masivo requerirá de una gran cultura ciudadana. “Aquí el gran desafío no es solo hacer una línea del metro, sino lograr un esfuerzo cívico ciudadano”, afirmó Peñalosa.
“We desire a more secure city, with better mobility, faster, more comfortable, with projects for its development that compete with the best cities of Latin America, for the city of which we and our children are proud,” Peñalosa has promised. These commitments will center around the development of the capital’s new metro network, albeit with a number of key amendments.
The plans for the Bogota Metro may once again have to be re-written, as Enrique Peñalosa, currently leading in the polls, outlines his plans for urban transport in the city and changes he would make to the strategy approved by the incumbent Gustavo Petro. “We are going to build the subway line, but it should be elevated, not underground,” the mayoral candidate explained in a recent interview.
According to Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro, financing strategy for the cities 30% contribution to the project has been approved by the state government, and completion of Conpes documentation is the only remaining hurdle before the construction tender can open for the first line of the capital’s metro . The 4.14 billion peso contribution will be largely raised from profits of publicly owned companies and borrowing.
Details have been released regarding Bogota’s proposed Metrosur or light rail network, which will run for 16.45km along Av. 68 from the commercial sector of Venice neighborhood up to the 7th street. The project will be funded with a Public-Private Partnership model (PPP), and will be paid for exclusively with private contributions.
Luego de precisar el anexo técnico del proyecto donde se establecieron los requisitos técnicos mínimos que todos los interesados deben cumplir, se presentaron 3 proponentes definitivos que están interesados en construir el Cable Aéreo de Ciudad Bolívar. El director general del Instituto de Desarrollo Urbano (IDU), William Camargo Triana, destacó el gran interés del gremio constructor por este proyecto, en el cual compiten 12 firmas asociadas en 3 uniones temporales.
Studies show that the average Colombian spends 480 hours a year stuck in traffic, as the country pushes forward with urban transport infrastructure projects and promotes cycling as an alternative to the heavily congested roads of the major cities.
