COLOMBIA · ECONOMY
Key Facts
- The place Barranquilla, Colombia’s Caribbean port city, will complete a divided road in its northern district.
- Cost Grupo Argos (holding group) and Tecnoglass (glassmaker) pay over 7.5 billion pesos (about US$2.3 million).
- Work The private section adds 684 metres of road and a roundabout; the city adds about 700 metres.
- The timing The companies estimate three months of work; no start date has been published.
- Power Index Colombia ranks 6th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 51.1 points (November 2026 edition).
Two companies, Grupo Argos and Tecnoglass, will pay to finish a main road in northern Barranquilla, a Caribbean port city of Colombia. The city government of Barranquilla announced on Friday 13 November 2026 that they will put in more than 7.5 billion pesos (about US$2.3 million at the market rate of about 3,300 pesos per dollar).
Tecnoglass, a maker of architectural glass and windows headquartered in Barranquilla, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Grupo Argos is a Colombian holding company, which we covered when it weighed cutting its cement unit stake.
What Happened
The project completes the double carriageway of Carrera 75A, a numbered avenue in northern Barranquilla that today carries traffic in both directions on a single roadway. A second roadway will separate the two directions, which the city says will improve road safety and make traffic flow more smoothly.
Grupo Argos and Tecnoglass will finance the second roadway from the existing stretch to the junction with Calle 100. Their works include a 684-metre southern roadway, a 139-metre section of the northern roadway, a roundabout 80 metres in diameter and a box culvert, a concrete channel that carries rainwater under the road.
The city will build the rest itself, about 700 metres of second roadway from the new Calle 100 roundabout to the Calle 98 roundabout. The new link will connect the roundabout called Ventana al Mundo, the numbered streets Calle 100 and Calle 98 and the Avenida Circunvalar, a major ring road.
What the Officials Said
Mayor Alejandro Char called Grupo Argos and Tecnoglass “two great allies” and said the road answers the growth of the city’s north. He said the works mean better mobility, more road safety and a better quality of life.
Juan Esteban Calle, president of Grupo Argos, said the project supports urban development in a growing area. Christian Daes, co-founder and chief operating officer of Tecnoglass, said thousands of residents, including many of the company’s employees, use the road every day.
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Why It Matters
The city says the extra roadway will add about 2,600 vehicles per hour of capacity on the corridor. The new roundabout is designed for about 4,000 vehicles per hour and will link with the roundabouts at Carrera 65A, Carrera 55 and Carrera 53 to make Calle 100 a main mobility corridor.
The work continues sections that both companies built under an agreement signed in 2024, so it is the next step of an existing partnership rather than a new one. Our report on Argos’s third-quarter results gives the wider financial picture.
What It Means for You
For a US investor in Tecnoglass shares, the sum is small: US$2.3 million is a minor outlay for a company listed in New York, and it is shared with Grupo Argos. The signal is local: the company is based in Barranquilla, and its co-founder says many of its staff use this road.
Visitors to Barranquilla face no announced change for now. The city has not said when construction will begin or whether lanes will close during the three-month private works.
What Is Not Known
It is not known when the works will start, and the three months is the companies’ own estimate. The announcement gives no cost or schedule for the city’s 700-metre section.
It is also not known how the 7.5 billion pesos (about US$2.3 million) will be split between Grupo Argos and Tecnoglass. The announcement gives one combined figure, described as more than 7.5 billion pesos.
More: Colombia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Paying for the Barranquilla Road?
Grupo Argos and Tecnoglass will pay for the section up to Calle 100, over 7.5 billion pesos (about US$2.3 million). The Barranquilla city government will build the remaining 700 metres.
How Long Will the Work Take?
The companies estimate about three months for their section, according to the city’s announcement of Friday 13 November 2026. No start date or schedule for the city’s section has been published.
Why Does a Road in Barranquilla Matter to US Readers?
Tecnoglass, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, is one of the two payers. The project shows how a company listed in New York invests in its home city.
Sources: City government of Barranquilla (Alcaldía de Barranquilla), announcement on the Carrera 75A road corridor with statements by Mayor Alejandro Char, Grupo Argos and Tecnoglass, 13 November 2026; RT, USD/COP exchange rate, 15 November 2026.
In depth
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error