Infrastructure
From The Report: Colombia 2013
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The government plans to implement heavy spending programmes to address Colombia’s severely deficient infrastructure network, a result of a rugged topography and decades of corruption, militancy and shifting government priorities. The Santos administration, which identified infrastructure development as a key pillar of its inclusive economic development policy, has committed to increasing investments from 1% to 3% of GDP. Investment allocations in the national budget have more than doubled in recent years, exceeding $4.2bn in 2012 and 2013. By 2020 the government expects some $50bn to have been invested, with the bulk coming from the private sector following administrative reform of the National Infrastructure Agency and a new law on public-private partnerships, aimed not only at increasing transparency and efficiency but also at attracting private investment.
This chapter contains an interview with Luis Fernando Andrade Moreno, President, National Infrastructure Agency.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

A new era: Connecting the country is a key priority of the current government
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A common complaint among Colombian transporters is that bringing goods from Bogotá or Medellín to the port of Buenaventura is more expensive than shipping it to or from Tokyo. High transportation costs have become so institutionalised that they are often likened to a 10% to 15% tax. While Colombia’s geographical layout has always been challenging to navigate, corruption, militancy and shifting government priorities have resulted in a severely deficient infrastructure network. LIMITED ACCESS:…

Interview

OBG talks to Luis Fernando Andrade Moreno, President, National Infrastructure Agency (ANI)
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Interview:Luis Fernando Andrade Moreno With only 1000 km of two-lane highways, what are your plans to extend the road network? LUIS FERNANDO ANDRADE MORENO: We are carrying out several projects through concessions, which, by 2014, should allow us to increase the length of two-lane highways to 1700 km. This will still be insufficient for the country’s needs, and so the administration is launching the fourth generation of concessions to keep pace with the growth rate seen for the entire country.…

Analysis

Renewed partnership: Private sector involvement is critical for many projects
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Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are no novelty in Colombia’s efforts to develop its infrastructure network. Since the early 1990s, a number of projects have been awarded under contractual structures that were amended with each “generation” – currently fourth – of public contracts on offer. However, for a number of reasons, the models have failed to sufficiently attract the private sector expertise and funding required to meet the country’s significant needs. Political instability…

Analysis

Central management: A new agency is guiding progress in the sector
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As part of the overhaul in the country’s approach to infrastructure development, the National Infrastructure Agency (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura, ANI) was created in November 2011. ANI was established to replace the National Concessions Institute, which had fallen into disrepute following several corruption-linked accusations. The new agency is a decentralised entity, operating under the purview of the Ministry of Transportation, but with financial and technical autonomy. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:…