Transport
From The Report: Colombia 2017
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The transport sector is the third-largest sector as a source of new employment and employs 8.5% of the workforce. The sector is poised to continue to grow over the coming years, which makes the issue of infrastructure expansion critical. High logistical costs make Colombian businesses less competitive internationally, but infrastructure investment programmes, such as the 4G programme and the PMTI, are likely to reduce operational costs with benefits trickling down to consumers and through the economy overall. Furthermore, the establishment of a long-term perspective for the advancement of multi-modal transport ensures that the development of the infrastructure will remain a priority for the country’s economic development agenda. This chapter includes interviews with René Puché, President, Port of Barranquilla; and Juan Camilo Samacá, President, Almaviva.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Paving the way: Developing infrastructure and reducing transport costs are top investment priorities
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Colombia’s economy experienced a boom over the last decade, with per-capita GDP more than doubling and foreign direct investment growing tenfold. Infrastructure and transport development, however, has been struggling to keep pace with the country’s rapidly expanding economy. Public investment in infrastructure currently makes up just 1.3% of GDP, below that of Colombia’s Latin American peers. The low public investment in the sector coupled with the country’s difficult geography has…

Analysis

Highway to growth: A new road improvement programme is key to increasing the country’s global competitiveness
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Colombia’s ambitious fourth generation (4G) road programme is a key part of the government’s transport infrastructure development strategy. The programme aims to build 45 new highway links and upgrade and renovate existing stretches of roads across the country for a total investment of $24bn. Most of the concessions are public-initiative, public-private partnership (PPP) agreements, although some projects will be privately managed will little to no public funding. The country’s PPP…

Interview

Promote and strengthen: René Puché, President, Port of Barranquilla, on developing logistics and infrastructure
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Interview:René Puché Given that Colombia’s ports are far from the main centres of production and consumption, how can firms be encouraged to relocate nearer to them? RENE PUCHÉ: This is one of the biggest challenges that Colombia is facing today to developing its industrial sector and boosting foreign trade. The first task is to demonstrate the advantages of moving closer to existing infrastructure, including lowering transport costs. Relocation would also be supported if the government…

Interview

Moving forward: Juan Camilo Samacá, President, Almaviva, on the future of the logistics market and infrastructure development
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Interview:Juan Camilo Samacá What needs to be done for Colombia to reach international levels of competitiveness in logistics? JUAN CAMILO SAMACÁ: If we take as a reference the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index 2016, which reported that after evaluating factors such as customs processes, infrastructure, transport, and quality and capacity of related services, Colombia ranked 60th position, and the sector faces many challenges. Infrastructure is one of the priorities that must…