4G highway project in Colombia secures US$740mn financing

ANI statement

This is a machine translation of the original press release issued in Spanish

The Autopista al Río Magdalena 2 project , concessioned by the National Infrastructure Agency - ANI , received a loan for $ 2.8 billion that guarantees to continue with the execution of the works that connect the Antioquia municipality of Remedios with the Puerto Berrío bypass and the Ruta del Sol in Cimitarra ( Santander ) upon consolidating its financial close.

“These resources obtained thanks to the investor confidence behind the concessioned infrastructure works in the country are a sign that solidity and competitiveness are achieved with key actions and results in the execution of the works. For us it is a milestone to have international financial entities that can support us and make the projects viable ”, highlights the Minister of Transport , Ángela María Orozco.

The structuring of the credit agreement that allows the highway works to continue was developed by the investment bank Goldman Sachs and Banco Santander , and entities such as Bancolombia , the Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional ( FDN ), Sumitomo Mitsui also participate in the financing. Banking Corporation , the Official Credit Institute of Spain ( ICO ), Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Banking , Banco de Credito del Peru ( BCP ), Siemens Financial Services and the Senior Debt Fund for Infrastructure in Colombia CAF-AM Ashmore.

The financing is made up of three tranches that are made up of a local credit in pesos, a credit in dollars and a bond issue under the regulation of the United States of America. The sum of these three tranches guarantees all the resources of this financial closing.

“This good news allows us to continue to strengthen the country's connectivity and to continue developing the works plan for the Magdalena River Highway 2: a road corridor that has four sections under construction and which we reactivated on May 14, 2020, since our goal has always been to start projects and generate this investor support that will allow the flow of resources ”, highlights the Executive Vice President of the National Infrastructure Agency, Carlos García.

This Fourth Generation (4G) highway, with 144 km concessioned by the ANI, seeks to connect Medellín directly with the Port of Cartagena and the north of the country, and the northeast of Antioquia with Santander, thanks to a bridge over the Magdalena River, 1,360 meters long, which to date registers an advance of 99%.

It is expected that the Functional Unit (section) 4 of the project, which links the Puerto Berrío bypass with Cimitarra, connecting the departments of Antioquia and Santander, will come into operation in the second half of 2021 and in 2023 the construction phase of the entire corridor, which employs 3,075 people and has investments in work for $ 1.78 billion.