IRF cooperation agreement with Columbia

IRF Washington announces strategic cooperation agreement with the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure The IRF Washington Program Center (IRF WPC) and the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure (CCI) have announced their intent to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate on technology transfer, training and dissemination of best-practices in Colombia
February 9, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

The IRF Washington Program Center (IRF WPC) and the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure (CCI) have announced their intent to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate on technology transfer, training and dissemination of best-practices in Colombia

According to 2462 IRF WPC Chairman Brian Harris, the MOU represents an important step in IRF's policy of expanding activities in Latin America, in keeping with its mission to encourage and promote development and maintenance of better, safer and more sustainable roads and road networks worldwide.

IRF greatly values the strategic relationship with CCI, because it is the largest, most important and active infrastructure industry group in Colombia - a nation that is in the process of upgrading and expanding its road infrastructure at a rapid pace, with investments valued in the billions of US dollars over the next 5 years.

According to Juan Martin Caicedo Ferrer, Executive President of CCI, the Colombian government is making up for low levels of financing in this sector over the last 10 years, by doubling investment (from under 1% of average GDP previously, to about 2%).

The 2505 National Institute of Concessions (INCO) reported that Colombia had 910km of major divided-lane highways as of the second quarter of 2010. By 2017, the 2506 National Planning Department (DNP) projects 2,651km of major highways. Recently, two major road concession projects were granted: the Ruta del Sol Highway Corridor, linking the Caribbean coast with the interior of Colombia, and the Túnel de la Línea, which will expedite movement of raw materials to production centres and export hubs, connecting the centre of the country to the Pacific. Future plans include the development of a multimodal system to lower freight costs and enable the growth of new mining and oil production projects.

CCI's mission in Colombia parallels that of IRF worldwide. As a non-profit industry group, the Chamber has promoted socio-economic development and upheld ethical principles and transparency in procurement policies associated with critical infrastructure projects.

Mr Caicedo has issued an invitation to IRF members and road sector organisations throughout the world to participate in the development of infrastructure in Colombia.

Two early, and ideal, opportunities in this respect will be the IRF Latin America Regional Congress in Bogota (8-9 November, 2010), and the Seventh National Congress of Infrastructure (24-26 November, 2010), which will be organised by CCI in Cartagena, a beautiful city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. This Congress will notably include a unique business matchmaking session.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • A game changer for the Balkans – road safety & innovation forum
    July 10, 2019
    IRF Expands Operations in South East Europe Close to 300 delegates, including representatives from key Bulgarian road agencies, took part in the 2nd Road Safety & Innovation Forum on May 15th at the joint invitation of the International Road Federation, EuroRAP and the Bulgarian Branch Association for Road Safety. “We had designed this event with the idea that countries such as Bulgaria, currently lagging behind in meeting their traffic injury reduction targets, could seize technological enablers that
    Read More
  • China's Roads Convention focuses on sustainability
    February 9, 2012
    IRF joins with key Chinese transport authorities to lead the way in efforts to make sustainable rural mobility, transport and access a reality for millions throughout the world. Jointly organised by IRF and the China Highway and Transportation Society (CHTS), together with the Shandong Provincial Transportation Department, the landmark 2nd International Convention on Rural Roads, hosted in the beautiful city of Jinan, China, marked a major step forward in global efforts to mobilise resources and knowledge f
    Read More
  • Colombia’s La Linea Tunnel will be completed
    September 16, 2015
    Colombia's national road institute (Invias) has said that the La Linea tunnel project will open to traffic in 2017. The project has been delayed on several occasions and due to a variety of reasons, presenting a luckless and lengthy tale of woe for Colombia’s transport ministry. Early in its lifetime the project was held back by unexpected geological issues arising from more challenging ground conditions than had been initially realised. The project was also delayed by insurance problems for some of the fir
    Read More
  • Promoting the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety
    February 27, 2012
    As part of its strong commitment to promoting the objectives of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020), IRF will be convening a major international symposium in Bucharest, Romania from 10-11 May, 2011. The symposium, based around the theme Providing Infrastructure that improves Road Safety, will take the form of a high-level, two-day interactive gathering, built around six sessions addressing key themes.
    Read More

Highlighted Content