The General Manager of Bogotá Metro Company (EMB) has announced that the public-private partnership to design, partially finance, construct, operate and maintain the first metro line in the city, estimated to cost US$4.4 billion, will be awarded in September.

The 24km metro line will run on raised track through the so-called Caracas Corridor located in the south-west of Bogotá, where public transport demand is highest. 23 trains, each able to carry 1,800 passengers, will stop at 15 stations along the route and transport roughly 72,000 passengers per hour.

EMB opened the tender for the project in August 2018, inviting interested parties to prequalify to submit proposals for the project until the end of 2018.

Though the tender process is around "20 internal steps" away from being complete, according to the General Manager, EMB is making good progress to select a preferred bidder in September.

EMB has also recently received a report from a civic commission established to evaluate the project, which includes representatives from ProBogotá, the Chamber of Commerce and the Colombian Society of Engineers. The commission has concluded that over the last six months the project has advanced in compliance with the agreed schedules and goals.

However, it has raised an alert and provided several recommendations to ensure that this remains the case, indicating a key concern that the schedule will not be met. This is already evident in that 6 September 2019 was initially scheduled as the date of commercial close.

The metro line is scheduled to begin operations in 2024. It is envisaged as the first of a metro network, and an integral part of a wider mass transit system. EMB projects that by 2030, 80% of Bogotá's residents will live less than a kilometer away from a mass transit line, metro line or main line.