EIB finances first line of Bogotá Metro with USD 480 million loan

The European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), part of the World Bank Group, signed financing agreements with Empresa Metro de Bogotá to support a flagship investment project that will transform Bogotá: the construction of the capital’s first metro line.

The project will cost a total of USD 4.3 billion and be partly financed by a USD 480 million loan from the EU bank and contributions of USD 600 million each from the IDB and IBRD.

This is the first public sector project financed by the EIB in Colombia. The USD 56 million granted by the EU bank to Empresa Metro de Bogotá with the guarantee of the Republic of Colombia today represents the first installment of a total loan of USD 480 million approved by the EIB to support the development of this project.

The new Bogotá metro will run on raised track to avoid earthquake risks along 24 km through the so-called Caracas Corridor located in the south-west of the capital where public transport demand is highest. The project will include the construction of 15 stations and acquisition of 23 trains each able to carry 1,800 passengers.

The project forms part of Bogotá’s 2016-2019 Municipal Development Plan and includes other schemes to improve public transport in the city such as upgrading the public bus system to link it to the new metro and building 14 kilometres of new cycle paths.

“For the first time, the EU bank is financing a project in the public sector in Colombia, supporting a large-scale piece of infrastructure that will have major economic and social benefits for the people. This project will foster climate action by helping to reduce pollutant emissions. We are therefore delighted to be taking part in a project that will transform Bogotá, meet all of the EU’s top priorities in the region and promote social inclusion and economic growth in Colombia,” said EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro.

The EIB is granting this loan under its Climate Action and Environment Facility (CAEF) with the aim of fostering climate change mitigation by promoting the use of public transport and helping to reduce pollutant emissions. The new metro line will also boost economic growth by generating new business opportunities, making it easier for workers to travel into the city centre and contributing to job creation.

Original source: EIB
Published on 6 August 2018