The Colombian region of Antioquia skips the mountains to be more competitive

The inhabitants of the Colombian department of Antioquia created more than 200 years ago a whole culture around the mountains that frame their territory, the same that they now seek to save with an ambitious infrastructure plan to speed up its economic development.

Medellín (Colombia), Nov 15 (EFE) .- The inhabitants of the Colombian department of Antioquia created more than 200 years ago a whole culture around the mountains that frame their territory, the same that now seek to save with an ambitious plan of infrastructures to speed up its economic development.

Located in the northwest of Colombia, Antioquia is a steep region whose towns and cities grew and developed on the back of a mule, an animal that has been and continues to be used since the 18th century to transport goods along difficult roads. origin to the culture of the arrieros, a heritage that remains alive.

However, to be more competitive in the globalized world, the Antioquenos, characterized by their strength, designed a set of infrastructure works for the period 2016-2030 that will require an investment of 40 billion pesos (about 13,265 million dollars) of public and private capital that is equivalent to two and a half times what the expansion of the Panama Canal cost.

"There is confidence in Antioquia and that is what makes investors are bringing resources", said the governor of that department, Luis Pérez Gutiérrez, when intervening in the Sectoral Economic Forum of the Colombian Chamber of Construction (Camacol) held last week in Medellín.

The works include the construction of tunnels, viaducts and highways to improve mobility in the 23 municipalities surrounding the capital Medellín, as well as the expansion and modernization of the José María Córdova international airport, located in Rionegro, a town in eastern Antioquia.

Another transformation front is the Urabá, rich agroindustrial region and the largest producer of bananas in the country, which for decades was stagnant due to the violence of the armed conflict but due to its geographical position, with a gulf on The Caribbean Sea, very close to the border with Panama, can become a pole for international trade.

A port system with three terminals will be built in Urabá. first of which, that of Pisisí, in the town of Turbo, 370 kilometers northwest of Medellín, will be the only automated and multipurpose of Colombia.

Another is the Port Antioquia, also in Turbo, and a third will be Puerto Darién, in the neighboring town of Necoclí, which when completed will expand the port offer of Colombia in the Caribbean, concentrated in the terminals of Barranquilla, Santa Marta and Cartagena.

"The Antioquenos were able to develop the mountain and it is time to develop the sea," said the governor. Perez.

Arriving from Medellin to Urabá by land is an odyssey that involves going down the rugged mountains to the sea, which is why the plan includes the construction of two highways and of the Toyo Tunnel, which with its 9.8 kilometers will be the longest in Colombia, a work executed by the National Government as part of the Autopistas de la Prosperidad program.

"El del Toyo is a succession of tunnels that will reduce the travel time between Medellín and Urabá from the six hours that it currently takes to three, "the president of the Antioquia Society of Engineers and Architects (SAI), Martín Alonso Pérez.

According to Pérez, none of the great engineering works being built in Antioquia is involved "in the problems of corruption of Odebrecht ", the Brazilian construction company involved in scandals in Colombia and other Latin American countries, which is already an advantage.

Another of the great works of this plan is the Tunnel de Oriente, which is part of a 24-kilometer road connection between the Aburrá and San Nicolás valleys, which will reduce the trip between Medellín and José airport from 45 to 18 minutes. María Córdova.

The work includes two tunnels, the one of Santa Elena, of 8.2 kilometers in length, and the one of the Seminary, of 800 meters, as well as several viaducts.

The East Tunnel should end in three months and the first roadway should start operating in December 2018, explained Pérez about this project that has a total investment of 921,000 million pesos (about 306 million dollars).

"In Antioquia the only way we have is the tunnels and viaducts because of the wrinkled topography we have," said the president of the SAI, who assured that with this work and the expansion of the airport, added to the arrival of new airlines, including Iberia, the capacity of that terminal will be expanded by which There are currently eight million passengers per year.