Ecuador plans to rehabilitate its rail network through a competitive bidding process

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ecuadorian Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP) plans to sustainably rehabilitate the rail network according to modern standards that will replace polluting materials with electric propulsion systems that favor the decarbonization of transport.

The preparation and structuring of the transfer process to the private sector for the repowering and rehabilitation of the railroad system for the transportation of tourists, passengers, and goods began with the drawing of the partial transfer deed of the railroad infrastructure.

This infrastructure consists of 965.6 km of track, traction, and traction engines (81 units) and the related movable and immovable property (35 rehabilitated stations and 60 non-rehabilitated).

To ensure the viability and sustainability of the railroad, MOTP promotes agreements with multilateral organizations to obtain legal, technical, and economic support to start the transfer process to the private sector, together with the Technical Secretariat for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).

According to Executive Decree 1190, which contains the regulations for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), the planning and structuring phases of the delegation process will be carried out within 12 months, that is, six months for each step the public tender and contract award within ten months.

However, Minister Marcelo Cabrera ordered that “the planning and structuring process will be carried out in an accelerated manner until the first half of 2022, the public tender will be held in the second half of the same year, and finally the contract will be signed with the company that is awarded the contract,” according to the state portfolio.

Until the start of the concession process, the feasibility of operating the released sections will be analyzed with the economic, logistical, and human support of several decentralized autonomous governments (GAD) and civil society.

To this end, the pilot plan will be coordinated with the Ministry of Tourism, including the analysis and opinion of Ferrocarriles del Ecuador.

To protect the national railroad infrastructure until the Ministry of Transport receives the funds for its maintenance and safety, “inter-institutional agreements or the corresponding legal instrument will be established with the GADs through which the railroad system passes and which have the support of the private sector to ensure the corresponding maintenance and safety in their jurisdiction,” according to the Ministry’s statement.

In this regard, the Secretary of State for Land and Rail Transport, Mario Pardo, is coordinating with the Municipality of Quito a new inter-institutional agreement to rehabilitate and secure the stations in the Chiriyacu – El Quinche section to reactivate social activities and businesses, and thus tourism and the local economy.