After signing the counter-guarantee contract between the Ministry of Finance of Colombia and the Empresa Metro de Bogotá, the Mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López traveled to Washington D.C. along with the manager of the Empresa Metro de Bogotá and the Secretary of Finance of Bogotá to meet with representatives from the European Investment Bank (EIB), World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) to define credit conditions for up to US$1.5 billion for the construction of the Second Line of the Bogotá Metro (L2MB).
Here is a photo of the Minister of Finance of Colombia, José Antonio Ocampo, and the Mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, after signing the counter-guarantee contract between the Colombian Nation and the the Empresa Metro de Bogotá:
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The first achievement of this trip has been to secure initial financing of US$50 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which will be part of the US$180 million initial credit with multilateral banks.
The following is a photo of María Shaw-Barragan, Director of the Financing Department for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, Asia, and Latam of the European Investment Bank, and Claudia López, Mayor of Bogotá:
"In three years, we have achieved the legal, technical, and financial structuring of the Second Line of the Bogotá Metro (L2MB) to consolidate the Metro Network as the backbone of the city's mass transit system. We are in Washington where we have secured initial financing with the EIB and set the schedule and conditions," explained the Mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López.
In the following tweet, Mayor Claudia López provided further details about the counter-guarantee received by the Metro Company to build the Bogotá Metro Line 2:
Gran noticia! Hemos recibido la contragarantía de la Nación para la Línea2 del @MetroBogota a Suba y Engativa!
— Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) April 12, 2023
Y hemos asegurado ya la financiación inicial por 50 millones de dólares del Banco Europeo de Inversiones e iniciado las gestiones con el Banco Mundial, el BID y la CAF! pic.twitter.com/s1jQ80Uoiv
Leonidas Narvaez, the manager of the Metro Company, highlighted that "thanks to the technical, legal, and financial structuring of the project, carried out through the Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (National Development Finance), resources were committed through the co-financing agreement, approval of credit quotas, and the sovereign guarantee of the Colombian Nation, which allows us to sign credit contracts with multilateral banks. On this occasion, we have secured initial financing with the European Investment Bank (EIB)."
In the following photo, (left to right) Leonidas Narváez, manager of the Bogotá Metro Company; Ariel Yepes, infrastructure manager; Claudia López, Mayor of Bogotá; Miguel Coronado, CAN manager; and Juan Mauricio Ramírez, Secretary of Finance of Bogotá; after the signing of the counter-guarantee provided by the Nation of Colombia to the Metro Company.
Bogotá's Second Metro Line (L2MB) will benefit close to 2.5 million inhabitants, connecting the Suba and Engativá districts to the city center and allowing families to have more time to share and less time for traffic jams. The service will operate in the Chapinero, Barrios Unidos, Engativá, and Suba districts, covering 15.5 kilometers with 11 stations, and the project will generate over 11,000 jobs.
During her visit to Washington D.C., the Mayor of Bogotá will also hold a business roundtable with North American investors and entrepreneurs, where she will present the progress made in Bogotá's multimodal and sustainable mobility infrastructure projects, seeking to establish strategic partnerships with companies interested in the city's various projects.
The main projects that will be presented include the Second Metro Line, the Canoas Wastewater Treatment Plant, railway development projects, including the Northern and Western Regiotrams, the Carrera Séptima Green Corridor, the Cable Car System, the Engativá Hospital, and the expansion of Calle 13.
This business roundtable is expected to generate interest and obtain the support of potential investors in these important infrastructure projects that will benefit the city's inhabitants and contribute to its sustainable development and growth.
In this photo, Tomas Bermudez, Manager of Andean Countries at the Inter-American Development Bank, and Claudia Lopez, Mayor of Bogotá:
The work agenda of Mayor Claudia Lopez in the North American capital also included her participation in the 'All Diplomacy is Local' Forum convened by the Meridian International Center. At this event, the mayor was part of the panel on the emergence of subnational diplomacy, where she highlighted the contribution of cities in the localization of global development agendas and the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
During her speech, the Mayor presented the first Voluntary Local Report on the Achievement of the SDGs, demonstrating Bogotá's commitment to implementing policies and programs to reach the goals established by the United Nations (UN). The participation of the Mayor in this event reflects the interest of the Colombian capital in promoting collaboration and exchange of experiences with other international actors to improve the quality of life of citizens and advance towards a more sustainable future.
The Mayor, who is accompanied on this visit by the Secretary of Finance of Bogotá, Juan Mauricio Ramirez, will also seek to achieve partnerships that strengthen the social, cultural, and economic integration of the migrant population. Additionally, she will hold preparatory meetings for the upcoming Summit of the Cities of the Americas, which will take place in Denver (United States) at the end of April this year.
In the following tweet, the Mayor of Bogotá thanked the National Government and multilateral banks for their trust in Colombia and Bogotá.
Nuestra inmensa gratitud con el Presidente @petrogustavo, con el Ministro de Transporte y de Hacienda @JoseA_Ocampo y todo su equipo, especialmente de crédito público, y con la banca multilateral por su confianza en Colombia y Bogotá!#ElMetroNosUne#LaBogotaQueEstamosConstruyendopic.twitter.com/FDesLh0jWr
— Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) April 12, 2023
