USD 450 million to improve urban mobility and territorial connectivity in Colombia

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, granted a long-term loan for USD 450 million to the program Ciudades Modernas e Infraestructura para la Integración Territorial Sostenible (Modern Cities and Infrastructure for Sustainable Territorial Integration), in order to support strategic public policy actions of high impact, that help improve the connectivity of the territories in a post-conflict scenario, promote sustainable urban development, and optimize the public transportation systems of Colombia. 

The funds, managed by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, and the National Planning Department (DNP, for its acronym in Spanish), are aligned with the Government's initiatives in different areas of urban development, such as the creation of sustainable cities, improvement of urban mobility, and greater territorial connectivity to achieve urban-rural integration that contributes to increase productivity and consolidate cities as economic drivers of the country. 

Enrique García, CAF's Executive President, explained "Today more than ever, we need cities that are more inclusive, competitive, efficient, and sustainable, that position citizens in the center of action, and that are the real drivers of economic growth. It is for this reason that investments to improve urban and inter-urban infrastructure are so important, as they have a positive impact on the environment and contribute to a necessary productive transformation of the countries". 

Among other things, CAF's support in financing this loan will contribute to the development and follow-up of public policies that promote urban development and infrastructures for a sustainable territorial integration; to promote dialogue about essential aspects for the country's sustainable development; and achieve the objective of optimizing the State's financial management that has been prioritized by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit. 

Agreement for the subscription of capital shares 

In the framework of the capital increase of USD 4.5 billion agreed by CAF's Board in November 2015, an agreement was signed with Colombia to subscribe ordinary capital shares for USD 572 million, ratifying the country's commitment with the integration process and CAF's development agenda in Latin America. This capital strengthening will allow the multilateral organization to have a significant growth in its operations, benefiting the Republic of Colombia and the rest of the shareholder countries, preserving their financial solidity.