Colombia road and tunnel connection to Medellin Airport

Work is well underway on a new road and tunnel project, which will provide an improved connection between the Colombian city of Medellin and its airport. The new link will measure 24km long in all and the construction work is expected to cost over US$342 million, with completion due at the end of 2018. The project is known overall as the Oriente Tunnel, with the work being carried out as a concession by Concesion Tunel Aburrá-Oriente. The project comprises four sections in all. These are the 786m Seminario
September 13, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Work is well underway on a new road and tunnel project, which will provide an improved connection between the Colombian city of Medellin and its airport. The new link will measure 24km long in all and the construction work is expected to cost over US$342 million, with completion due at the end of 2018. The project is known overall as the Oriente Tunnel, with the work being carried out as a concession by Concesion Tunel Aburrá-Oriente. The project comprises four sections in all. These are the 786m Seminario Tunnel, the 4.6km Seminario-Portal Occidental route, the 1.4km Cerro el Chivo overpass (with nine bridges) and the 8.2km Santa Elena Tunnel. This last joins with the Sajonia ring road, which itself connects with the Rionegro airport through the Guarne-Llanogrande road.


Tunnels are needed on the route because a 2,450m high mountain lies between Medellin and the Rionegro district in San Nicolás valley, where the Jose Maria Córdova International Airport is located. Both Medellin and the airport are situated in the Department of Antioquia. The airport is the second largest in Colombia after that serving the capital Bogota and is currently undergoing expansion to boost capacity. Jose Maria Córdova International Airport originally opened to flights in 1985, taking over from a much smaller facility in Medellin itself, which could not be expanded due to limited space and that was subsequently closed to air traffic.

Road Structures

Related Content

  • Colombia tunnel project ahead of schedule
    June 12, 2020
    Construction work on a key Colombian tunnel project is ahead of schedule.
    Read More
  • Complex Colombia capital contract considered
    December 20, 2017
    A complex construction contract is being considered for Colombia’s capital, Bogota. Work is expected to commence for the Avenida Longitudinal de Occidente (ALO) south road project in 2019. This 24km dual carriageway link will be complex to construct as it will feature 46 bridges, as well as two intersections. Construction work is expected to cost in the region of US$336 million. The work will be carried out in two sections, with a 14.4km link from the Bogota River to the Muna Intersection. However the feasi
    Read More
  • Colombia’s tunnel of woe faces further setback
    May 19, 2017
    The troubled tunnel construction project in Colombia to build the La Linea link has faced yet a further setback in its long tale of woe. The tender for the completion of the final 12% of the tunnel project has not managed to attract any interest from contractors. The budget for this work is an estimated US$77 million. A new tender process is being launched, with a submission deadline of 6th June 2017 and planned winner announcement on 4th July 2017. The contractor that had been building the tunnel failed to
    Read More
  • New tunnel link proposed for Colombia
    July 23, 2013
    Even as work continues on La Linea tunnel in Colombia, the country’s government has received a proposal for an additional tunnel link. A consortium made up of Colombian companies and Italian firms has suggested building a new tunnel to link Quindio and Tolima. Odinsa, Mincivil, Impregilo and Salini are involved in the consortium and have suggested a PPP as being a possible model under which to construct the link, which could cost in the order of US$531 million and would be 8.5km long. The economic case for
    Read More

Highlighted Content