The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has proposed financing for the East Cundinamarca bypass concession project in Colombia.

The total project investment is estimated at US$700 million. ADB has proposed  an A loan of up to U$175 million.

In September 2014 Colombia's Infrastructure Unit, ANI, and the consortium formed by Shikun and Binui and Grodco has achieved commercial close for the project.

The fundamental purpose of the project is to develop and promote a 153 km north-south arterial road in the eastern sector of Bogotá in order to propose an alternative for mobility in this geographical location. Construction includes the development of 8 bridges and 3 overpasses and is considered to represent a low degree of technical risk.

The public-private partnership contract consists of the design, construction, financing, operation, maintenance (DBFOM) and reversing the East Cundinamarca bypass. The term of the concession contract will be 22 years.

The revenue stream of the project will consist of two key components:

• toll revenues, aprox 40%, to be charged at five tolling points throughout the highway system; and
• availability payments, aprox 60%, that will be paid over a period of 20 years

The road represents a new North-South axis with shorter travel times for the departments of Meta, Cundinamarca and Boyacá, as well as metropolitan Bogota, benefiting a total population of approximately 300,000 inhabitants from the areas surrounding the project.

The Colombian road sector has been very active during last weeks. We have reported about several road PPP projects in the country:

• Rumichaca - Pasto highway
• Santander de Quilichao - Popayán highway
• Santa Ana - Mocoa - Neiva highway
• Villavicencio - Yopal road concession
• Bucaramanga - Barrancabermeja - Yondó highway concession
• Sea highway 1 ('Autopistas de la Prosperidad' package)
• Antioquia - Bolívar road
• "Transversal del Sisga" Sisga - Aguaclara road
• Cambao - Manizales road project