Possible PPP for Mulalo-Loboguerrero

The Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure has put forward a proposal to carry out the Mulalo-Loboguerrero road project as a private-public partnership contract.

The current contract is a design-build-finance-operate-maintain for upgrades and news lanes for the 32km-long project connecting the Port of Buenaventura with the industrial zone in the Valley of the Cauca.

In May last year, the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) and the concessionaire Nueva Vía al Mar - Covimar - signed a deal to start the construction, operation and maintenance phase. The project includes building 27.7km of single carriageway and around 4km of double carriageway, along with five tunnels and numerous pedestrian bridges.

Challenges include complex access to the road as well as social restrictions relating to the presence of indigenous communities, according to Infrata, a global technical advisor that provides independent due diligence to lenders and investors on major infrastructure projects.

Valley of the Cauca River is a department in western Colombia on the Pacific Ocean, with its capital is Santiago de Cali. Other major cities include such as Buenaventura, Buga, Cartago and Palmira. Buenaventura, with a population or around 250,000 is the busiest seaport in Colombia.