The second line of the Bogotá Metro promised to be the complete opposite of the first. The design, feasibility studies and initial stages have moved full steam ahead in recent years. There was consensus on the underground route and the project was barely part of last year’s electoral campaign. The then mayor, Claudia López, hoped that the concessionaire would be chosen before April of this year — she had already reassigned herself to not be before the end of her term, on December 31. But, in recent months, the bidding began to get tangled. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), co-financier of the work, has insisted several times to the Mayor’s Office that there may be a conflict of interest between two of the four preselected proponents.
The short circuits gained media coverage after a public complaint carried out on Tuesday by Daniel Briceño, a lawyer who became known for his political oversight activities on social networks and who was elected in the last elections as a councilor for the right-wing Democratic Center. The supports are a series of documents from the IDB and the District that were published in the Electronic System for Public Procurement (SECOP). They show that the financial institution expressed its concerns to the mayor in October and that the Bogotá Metro Company (EMB), in charge of the tender, dismissed them. It is also evident that the two sides aligned on December 22. After the insistence of the IDB, the District announced that it was extending the deadlines for awarding the tender until August and that it would study alternatives to resolve the problem.
The process is not governed by local regulations, but by IDB purchasing and acquisition criteria that are known by companies around the world and that seek to generate greater confidence among investors. According to these guidelines, the proponents cannot have the ability to influence a rival—for example, because they belong to the same owner. In this case, the conglomerate China Communications Construction Group (CCCG) has shares in companies of two different proponents, as reported in September by one of the rival applicants. The initial claim, made by a Spanish conglomerate, also pointed out another alleged conflict of interest with a third applicant of Chinese origin who is no longer part of the bank’s questions.
Claudia López, then mayor, when announcing the receipt of four applications to build Line 2 of the capital’s Metro, in 2023.METROBOGOTA
A letter from the IDB dated December 19 notes that EMB did not provide “sufficient additional information and documentation” to rule out a conflict of interest between the two proponents with CCCG participation—it does not mention the third Chinese candidate who appeared in the original claim. “The Bank and the Multilateral Bank consider that the indirect relationship between applicant 1 and applicant 2 (…) allows an ‘applicant to influence the offer of another applicant’, thus configuring an apparent conflict of interest,” reads in the text. In addition to the IDB, the claim includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), which participate in the financing of the 15.5 kilometer megaproject.
The IDB, the multilateral financial institution that will contribute at least 415 million dollars (around 1.6 billion Colombian pesos), emphasized that the bidding process could not move forward until this situation was addressed. “To the extent that the aforementioned conflict of interest is not resolved to the satisfaction of the Bank and the Multilateral Bank, it is not feasible in this instance to grant the No Objection in the terms requested by the EMB,” adds the entity. The letter also requested that all documents be kept confidential until the process was concluded. The Mayor’s Office, however, responded days later that it was necessary to upload the communications to SECOP due to Colombian transparency laws.
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Following Councilor Briceño’s complaint, an IDB spokesperson told this newspaper in writing that “all parties involved must observe the highest standards of integrity, transparency and equity” in the contracting processes. “The EMB must identify alternatives according to the procurement policies that govern the process to continue with the bidding for Line 2,” he commented in an email. The EMB, for its part, stated on Thursday in a statement who has focused his work “on seeking the appropriate solution” since he learned of the claims in September. “This situation does not represent any financial risk for the project and does not jeopardize the awarding of the contract,” he assured.
Meetings with proponents
The general manager of the EMB, Leónidas Narváez, explained on Caracol Televisión that his idea is to reach an agreement with the IDB in the coming months. There will be an international observer and separate meetings with each of the bid proponents to determine if there is a conflict of interest. “This is a complex bidding process that was scheduled to be awarded at the end of the first half of this year. But it will surely take a few months and it can be awarded until September,” he justified. For the official, the extension of the contracting deadlines does not imply a “delay” because there are no works in progress. “There is no schedule, there is no program, there is no work that has to be accomplished,” he said.
The mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, who kept Narváez in the position to which he was appointed by Claudia López, recognized on Wednesday the problem facing the second line. “In terms of Colombian legislation, apparently, it would not have the implication of a conflict of interest. But, in terms of multilateral banking, which is what we are governed by, it would exist. (…) It is an issue that can be resolved, we are reviewing how,” he declared during an interview with Caracol Radio. He did not give further details and limited himself to highlighting that the previous administration had published the documents that revealed the obstacle.
Councilor Briceño is less optimistic. He comments, in a telephone conversation with this newspaper, that he does not believe that the IDB is going to give in and that starting the process again without the bank would produce significant delays—in addition to the need to look for other financiers. “We voluntarily decided to submit to the IDB rules. If we accept and invite them, we have to comply,” he remarks.
More delays on the front line
The first line of the Bogotá Metro has added a new chapter to its long history of delays and uncertainty. The mayor, Carlos Fernando Galán, acknowledged on Wednesday that the work has progress of 19.5% and not the 21% that it should have according to the Comptroller’s Office. “We are somewhat behind and we have to work on getting the contractor up to date,” he said on Caracol Radio. In addition, the president specified that the figures circulated by the previous administration regarding progress greater than 26% included other elements, such as the acquisition of land to build.
The Bogotá Metro Company (EMB) released on Thursday a letter in which several difficulties are evident with the concessionaire APCA Transmimetro. “The project situation requires effective action plans and immediate implementation, which is why a drastic change in the direction of the project is required (…). The current line of command of ML1 has not led the project on the correct path, it has not taken the corrective measures and actions that allow the milestones established in the contract to be met,” the letter reads.
Meanwhile, the report from the Society of Engineers on the feasibility of burying a section of the first line, as desired by President Gustavo Petro, is not yet known. Several opposition congressmen were not successful in accessing it when they requested it from the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) during a commission meeting that took place on Wednesday in Congress.
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2024-02-02 07:19:13
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