Ecuador signs financing deal for Bombolí tunnel

Ecuador’s public works ministry (MTOP) and the government of Pichincha province signed a financing agreement to build the Bombolí tunnel, which is slated to be the longest in the country, at 1.7km.

In the agreement, the national government pledged to cover half of the US$60mn investment, with the rest coming from the provincial administration.

During the signing of the agreement, public works minister Aurelio Hidalgo (pictured right) said the government will disburse the first US$10mn this year, with the rest coming in 2020, according to an MTOP statement published on Twitter.

The proposed tunnel is part of a plan to widen the Alóag-Santo Domingo highway connecting Pichincha and neighboring Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas province, and is being carried out by local construction firm Hidalgo e Hidalgo, whose contract also includes the tunnel.

At the same event, Pichincha governor Gustavo Baroja (pictured left) said that works on the tunnel would start on May 5.

Works on the US$254mn widening project were temporarily halted in 2017 due to the concerns of local authorities about their capacity to cover the costs, even with toll collection.

Last year, the MTOP approved a US$40mn transference to the Pichincha government to fund the section between Tandapi and Unión del Toachi (now finished), while also granting US$30mn for the Unión del Toachi-Santo Domingo section, currently under execution, the MTOP said in a release.