Colombian Government starts bidding process for the PPP of the Magdalena River to restore its navigability

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Colombian Government, through the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI), opened the bidding process for the PPP of the Magdalena River after publishing the final specifications for this initiative, which seeks to recover the navigability of the country’s main tributary along 668 km, between Bocas de Ceniza (Barranquilla) and Barrancabermeja (Santander).

The bidding documents will be published in the State’s Secop I portal for approximately one month. In this space, interested parties may learn the details of this initiative and make comments or request clarifications to consolidate their respective proposals. Once this stage is completed, ANI will present bids from potentially interested parties and finalize the awarding process.

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The Magdalena River PPP is a whole project for Colombia for many reasons. One of them is that it allows the consolidation of intermodality, but it also has an enormous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, the country has prioritized this project within its commitments in the Paris Agreement as one of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).

Cargo transportation on the Magdalena River has a potential annual emissions reduction estimated to reach 190,000 tons by 2030. According to estimates, transporting cargo on the river translates into an emissions reduction of about 62% per ton transported compared to the emissions produced in other traditional modes.

It is important to note that the Magdalena River PPP is a project jointly structured by ANI and Cormagdalena, with the leadership of the Ministry of Transportation. It has also had the support and accompaniment of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), having received advice from important national and international companies, such as the firms Durán & Osorio, for the legal component; Ernst & Young, for the financial component; and Environmental Resources Management (ERM) and Royal HaskoningDHV, for the environmental and technical components, respectively. Technical support was also provided by Universidad del Norte and the Alexander von Humboldt Institute.

“It was a commitment of the national government to advance in this bidding process that is a priority for the region and Colombia. The river will become the backbone of intermodal transportation and the engine that freight transportation is needed for the country’s development. We continue to demonstrate with facts the strengthening of the concessioned transportation infrastructure and even more with this initiative that recovers the navigability of the Magdalena River”, said Ángela María Orozco Minister of Transportation.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Magdalena River PPP contemplates estimated investments of US$382 million. It will have 18 functional units, where most of the works correspond to hydraulic infrastructure (bank protection, cutwater repairs, submerged dikes, bank revetment, and moorings).

Dredging activities are also contemplated to guarantee service levels along the canal: Bocas de Ceniza – Pimsa: Navigable Channel Width 200 – 50 m, Depth 40 – 23 ft. Pimsa – Barrancabermeja: Width of the navigable channel 95 m, Depth 7.8 feet.

According to the structuring process, the pre-construction period of the Magdalena River PPP will be 13 months, and the construction period will be 4.5 years. It is estimated that the concession period will be 15 years and six months.