Physical infrastructure: indispensable for stimulating integration

(Caracas, October 23, 1992).- “One of the most important challenges in the ongoing subregional integration process is to be clearly aware of the importance of physical integration for our countries," CAF President & CEO Enrique García said during the opening ceremony of the VII Meeting of Ministers of Transport, Communications and Public Works of the Andean Pact member countries.

"For optimal implementation of the free trade area, task on which the Andean countries are working hard, we need fluid movement of people, merchandise and services, which can only be achieved by cross-border integration and effective physical infrastructure," García said.

The ministerial meeting was held in Caracas, Venezuela, on October 22 and 23, and chaired by the Peruvian Minister of Transport, Communications, Housing and Construction, Alfredo Ross Antezana.

On this occasion, CAF submitted for consideration by the ministers a total of 45 cross-border integration projects (road, rail and river transport) with a view to determining the priorities for their countries.

Previously, technical teams from the five member countries had selected 20 projects for urgent execution, which would require an investment of over US$1.8 billion.

Cross-border integration The five countries agreed to give priority to execution of two cross-border integration projects aimed at facilitating access by Bolivian cargo to the Pacific Ocean across Peruvian territory. This is the Ilo-Desaguadero highway and the Matarani-La Paz rail-lake corridor.

In January this year, Peru granted Bolivia a commercial, industrial and tourism free zone in Ilo, situated 1,145 km south of Lima, which guarantees export of Bolivian products to international markets.

The Ilo-Desaguadero highway – the Peruvian-Bolivian integration corridor - will also provide access to the Pacific, through Bolivia, from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso del Sur, as well as Paraguay, opening trade between this region and the countries of the Pacific basin.

Last September, CAF approved a US$25 million loan for construction of a highway section to connect Beni and La Paz departments, which will later be extended to the border with Peru. This project will upgrade the Bolivian section of the corridor to Ilo port.

The projects presented by CAF also include construction or upgrading of a series of roads to optimize the use of binational resources; for example, Juliaca-Urcos-Quincemil-Inanbarí-Puerto Maldonado-Iñapari, Matarani-Arequipa-Juliaca-Puno-Llave-Desaguadero, and Tacna-Collpa-La Paz, among others.

With the execution of other road projects, Bolivia will become the “communicating vessel" between the Andean and South Cone countries (Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile), as well as a connection corridor between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This would be an important step to making the physical isolation and separation which still persists in Latin America a thing of the past.

Colombian-Venezuelan roads Venezuela and Colombia have assigned high priority to the Cúcuta-Ureña-San Faustino-La China-La Fría highway, whose Venezuelan section begins in La Fría (Táchira state) and ends in La China, in Colombian territory (Norte de Santander department) on the border. The second section begins in Ureña (Colombia) and ends on the border near San Faustino.

This road will facilitate trade between the south of Zulia state and the north of the states of Táchira, Mérida, and Trujillo, with the Cúcuta-Pamplona area.

Another important route for Venezuela is San Cristóbal-Rubío-San Antonio-Ureña highway which will connect Táchira state (Venezuela) with Norte de Santander department (Colombia), improving the fluidity of commercial traffic between the two countries.

Bridge between Ecuador and Colombia Another project considered to have high integrationist content is the Colombian-Ecuadorian project to build a bridge over the San Miguel River between Putomayo department, Colombia, and Napo province, Ecuador.

Execution of this work will join up the sections of the marginal forest road in both countries, which will then be the most important highway along the eastern foothills of the Andes because it will effectively interconnect the Andean countries, improving transport of people and cargo, and facilitating trade.

Ecuador: Coastal Marginal Highway The main highway network in Ecuador has three important north-south corridors. One is situated in the sierra between two branches of the Andes corridor formed by the Pan-American Highway; another goes along the coast from the border with Colombia to the border with Peru; and lastly the eastern region trunk which connects the border with Colombia and ends at Zamora.

However, as in most of Andean countries, connecting sections are needed to complete these important highways to create a fluid corridor between the three countries (Colombia, Ecuador and Peru).

The study presented by CAF contains many road projects which will correct these problems.

Priority sector Since Enrique García became CAF president in December 1991, his objective of strengthening subregional physical integration has become a priority area of action.

One of the first actions of the Corporation in this respect was to prepare an inventory of existing binational integration projects, which has been compiled in two books (road and energy infrastructure) to be published soon.

Concurrently, CAF began an action plan for participating in physical infrastructure and cross-border integration projects, after selecting the projects considered priority by the respective governments. As a result, the Corporation will cofinance these projects with other multilateral, regional and international financial organizations, together with contributions from the public and private sectors.