During a meeting at the Mayor's Office of Bogotá, Minister Ricardo Bonilla delivered the guarantee of the Colombian Nation to the City to move forward with the underground Line 2 of the Metro, which will have 11 stations through the districts of Chapinero and Barrios Unidos to Engativá and Suba.
At the meeting, attended by Metro Manager Leonidas Narváez, it was made clear that the Nation's guarantee for the credit with the European Investment Bank for $50 million, which was secured in Washington, is the first of four that must be processed with multilateral banks for approximately USD $1.5 billion.
Previously, during a recent visit to Washington, the Mayor, and the Metro Company manager met with representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Development Bank for Latin America (CAF) to define the conditions of the credits for US$1.5 billion for the construction of this megaproject.
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In this tweet, the Mayor refers to the guarantee provided by the Ministry of Finance:
El Ministro @ricardobonillag@MinHacienda nos entregó hoy firmada la garantía de la Nación para la linea 2 del @MetroBogota, que será subterránea con 11 estaciones desde Chapinero y Barrios Unidos hasta Engativa y Suba.#ElMetroNosUne y avanza! pic.twitter.com/7XVyRCFjSU
— Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) May 8, 2023
"We have great news for Bogotá, as in less than two years we have managed to legally, technically, and financially structure the Second Metro Line (L2MB), to consolidate the Metro Network as the backbone of the city's mass transportation system. Thanks to this step by the Colombian Nation and the city, we are concluding the procedures that will allow us to sign the credit contract with the European Investment Bank, and define the steps to follow and credit conditions with the World Bank, IDB, and CAF," explained Mayor Claudia Lopez in recent days.
For his part, Leonidas Narvaez, General Manager of the Metro, indicated at that time that "thanks to the technical, legal, and financial structuring of the project carried out through the National Development Finance Corporation (Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional), the commitment of resources was achieved through the co-financing agreement, the approval of credit quotas, and the sovereign guarantee of the Nation, which allows us to sign credit contracts with multilateral banks."
The Bogotá Metro Line 2 (L2MB), which will benefit around 2.5 million inhabitants, will connect the Suba and Engativa districts to 72nd Street in Chapinero, along 15.5 kilometers; it will have 11 stations and generate more than 11,000 jobs during its construction phase.
Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR Canoas)
During the meeting with the Minister of Finance, the commitment of the National Government to co-finance the Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR) Canoas was also ratified. This plant will allow for the treatment of 70% of the wastewater from Bogotá and 100% from Soacha, thus cleaning up the middle basin of the Bogotá River and benefiting an estimated population of 7,322,142 inhabitants.
In this regard, the Aqueduct Company requested the Ministry of Finance to study the feasibility of the counter-guarantees to access the multilateral credit with a guarantee from the Nation, up to 600 million dollars, for the financing of the construction of the Canoas Wastewater Treatment Plant - PTAR Canoas.
Likewise, a new counter-guarantee proposal was presented to the Ministry, which will be submitted this week for joint work meetings to obtain feasibility from the National Government and continue with the process before CONPES and the Inter-Parliamentary Credit Commission in June.
It is worth noting that the construction of this PTAR will allow for the fulfillment of 23% of the country's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, as well as the improvement of the chemical and biological conditions of the Bogotá, Fucha, Tunjuelo, and Soacha rivers.
The prequalification for the construction of the PTAR, which refers to the first part of the public invitation, was opened on March 22. In this stage, those interested in the eventual execution of the concession contract presented expressions of interest that demonstrate compliance with the enabling requirements established in the prequalification document related to legal capacity, financial capacity, and experience.
Use of future resources for Transmilenio
The third advancement has to do with the use of future resources for projects in 2023, to cover commitments on Avenida 68, where the feeder trunk of the First Metro Line is currently under construction, and also on Avenida Ciudad de Cali with the Bogotá Energy Group for their respective investments.
In this regard, all internal procedures for issuing the resolution have already been completed, and the public credit team indicated that risk assessments, projected cost evaluations, risk ratings, among other requirements, have already been carried out to authorize securitization this same week.
