Colombian authorities, Ecopetrol ink funding for Cúcuta aqueduct

Colombia's state oil company Ecopetrol, the country's housing ministry and the government of Norte de Santander department signed an agreement to allocate nearly 402bn pesos (US$134mn) for the construction of an aqueduct for the metropolitan area of departmental capital Cúcuta.

The agreement establishes that Ecopetrol will provide 251bn pesos, while the national government will supply 100bn pesos and the Norte de Santander authorities 50bn pesos, according to a press release from the housing ministry.

The project is expected to benefit Cúcuta and the neighboring Villa del Rosario and Los Patios municipalities. In this regard, the aqueduct is expected to secure water services for this area for a 30-year period, benefiting some 800,000 residents.

In this regard, housing minister Camilo Sánchez said that this is one of the biggest aqueduct projects to secure financing in recent years.

The tender for the works is expected to be launched within two months in order to begin construction before May 2018, Norte de Santander governor William Villamizar was quoted as saying by daily La Opinión.

The project received the backing of the country's national fiscal policy council Conpes back in 2014, but it suffered several delays as Ecopetrol was confronted with a decline in oil prices.