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ANI transfers operation of Guillermo Gaviria Correa to Mar 1 Devimar

The Colombian department of Antioquia has transferred operation of the Guillermo Gaviria Correa road connection to the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI). ANI will, in turn, cede the concession to the Mar 1 Devimar consortium. The road, named after the assassinated governor of Antioquia, runs between the municipalities of Medellin and San Jerónimo and connects Medellin to the Uraba Gulf, part of the Caribbean Sea. Gaviria, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was kidnapped by guerrillas and held captive for
July 6, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Colombian department of Antioquia has transferred operation of the Guillermo Gaviria Correa road connection to the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI).

ANI will, in turn, cede the concession to the Mar 1 Devimar consortium.

The road, named after the assassinated governor of Antioquia, runs between the municipalities of Medellin and San Jerónimo and connects Medellin to the Uraba Gulf, part of the Caribbean Sea. Gaviria, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was kidnapped by guerrillas and held captive for a year before being among 10 people killed in 2003 in response to an attempted military rescue.

In operation since 2007, the highway, in combination with the Fernando Gómez Martínez tunnel – the longest tunnel in South America - has done away with the curvy roads once commonplace in the tourist areas of Santa Fé de Antioquia, San Jerónimo and Sopetrán.

The Mar 1 Devimar consortium will soon start construction of the Mar 1 motorway, one of the main projects included in the federal government's 4G Roads Programme. The contract for construction of the 176km Mar 1 was awarded in 2015. The road will connect with the El Toyo tunnel and Mar 2 motorway at a cost of around US$500 million. Work will include construction of 17 tunnels and 41 bridges, as well as a second lane in the Medellin-Santa Fe section and refurbishment of Bolombolo-Santa Fe section.

Meanwhile, the president of the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI), Luis Fernando Andrade, said that there is a six-month delay in achieving financial closures for the first phase of the government's 4G Road Programme. There are, however, 12 projects in the first stage of the process, which involves letters of commitment delivered to ANI by the investors.

Andrade said that financial closures for the remaining projects are likely to be ready in the near future, apart from the Mulalo-Loboguerrero motorway in Valle del Cauca department.

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