It was recorded on video when the Minister of Transportation, Guillermo Reyes, I raise the talanqueras of the Turbaco toll, which is located near Cartagena and is part of the concession of the Highways of the Caribbean.
(See: Highway concessions, in suspense for money from frozen toll rates).
In the clip, Reyes is seen surrounded by hundreds of people and some police officers. And at the moment when he raises the talanqueras he is applauded by the population that was next to him.
The official’s action has to do with the suspension of Turbaco toll collection, a decision that will be valid until the end of April.
(See: The reasons for electronic tolls to move forward in half gear).
according to the newspaper The universal, of Cartagena, studies will be carried out to make determinations regarding this toll and it is possible that it will be moved from site.
In the last few days, the population surrounding the Turbaco toll had been protesting and demanding the suspension of the collection in the booths.
According to what Ernesto Carvajal, general manager of the Autopistas del Caribe concession, told Portafolio, in December 2022, the Turbaco toll represents 30% of the resources with traffic that passes through there daily, equivalent to 25,000 vehicles a day.
At the moment, this road project is in pre-construction stage and you need to achieve financial close to advance to the next phase: the construction.
(See: Engineers warn Petro that tertiary roads are not for the JAC).
“During the pre-construction phase, we are carrying out the studies and engineering designs for everything we are going to build, we are processing the environmental licenses and we have five certified prior consultations. However, we are not advancing in the accreditation of the financial closing: although we presented the project to 26 entities of the sector, of which 10 showed interest, we have difficulties to achieve it”, Carvajal pointed out at the end of last year.
And among the reasons for that problem was the Turbaco toll, as well as the Arroyo de Piedra toll station and the tariff scheme.
For On April 20, Autopistas del Caribe must have a financial closure to have the endorsement of credit institutions to start the construction phase of the 94 kilometers of dual carriageway and variants.
This initiative was born to improve connectivity between Cartagena and Barranquilla, and private resources were formulated: $4.3 trillion of which $1.5 are from capex.
BRIEFCASE
