Colombia’s Government to Allocate Funds for Controversial Antioquia Tunnel

The National Roads Institute, an agency of the executive branch of the government of Colombia, has agreed to present a plan to fund the mega project of the tunnel at El Toyo. The government also announced that the National General Comptroller will present a report on April 24, detailing the completion plan for the tunnel. Estimates value the remaining project at COP 650.000 million (USD 170,690,000).  

President Gustavo Petro announced through his X account that the government would release the funds to complete this project. He had not provided any details as to when the transaction would happen but recognized the urgency of this matter. The project requires the release of at least COP 300.000 million during the first semester of the year to prevent it from halting.

Are these government funds going to be enough to complete the tunnel?

In the forthcoming report, the National Roads Institute will provide information on the expected arrival of funds that were previously deemed unavailable or not prioritized by the government. This led the Antioquia government to launch a fundraising campaign to complete the remaining sections of the 4G roads that connect the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Colombia.

The Toyo Tunnel project, managed by the Medellín City Hall and the Antioquia government, has almost reached completion and has consumed nearly COP 3.5 trillion. The tunnel is expected to be completed by August this year, thanks to new funds made available by the Colombian government. Once finished, the responsibility shifts to the National Roads Institute to install the tunnel’s electromechanical equipment, costing about COP 500,000 million, and to finish the main tunnel access road, a 19.4-kilometer corridor from Santa Fe de Antioquia to the tunnel entrance. 

The national government prioritized the construction of 12 km of this corridor, which is over 70% complete. However, three tunnels, seven bridges, and 5.6 km of open sky road remain, costing an estimated total of COP 650,000 million and requiring an estimated 18 to 24 months to construct.

What’s next for Antioquia’s crowdfunding initiative?

From the Antioquia government, there is optimism that the pressure exerted on the government has paid off and funds will be available to complete the projects. Despite this, a new controversy now looks likely. 

Earlier this month, Antioquia’s government started a public crowdfunding campaign in which Antioquians and Colombians donated to the regional government to complete the projects. The initiative has already surpassed 5,000 million COP in donations. The governor’s office has claimed that “the initiative is going strong and it is picking up steam.” Despite the government allocating funds to this project, an additional 500.000 million COP is still needed to complete certain sections of the Pacific 1 and 2 4G highways. These sections have been causing project delays for almost 15 years, which is significant.

The governor’s office also claims that 4G highways are 77% complete. However, the local government still needs to complete critical parts of the roads, and therefore, the initiative must raise more funds. Despite this ambition, the crowdfunding initiative has only collected about 0,474% of its 1 billion COP target.