Paseo del Bajo and its impact on the life of Buenos Aires

This article was also published in Clarín

Ever since the 18th century, the banks of Río de la Plata witnessed growing business and cultural activity, much of which was concentrated in Buenos Aires, as the capital of the Viceroyalty, where a large percentage of exports from South American colonies was shipped to Spain. As a result, the city changed its appearance and dynamics, as it experienced extraordinary growth coupled with intense—and in some cases disorganized—urbanization processes.

The led to areas for leisure and housing overlapping long-distance public transport stations, or cargo—which accounted for up to 40% of vehicular traffic—and private transport sharing the same avenues and streets. The impact of these mismatches has been evident: traffic congestion, environmental pollution, inefficiency in transport costs or dysfunctional infrastructure.

The Paseo del Bajo renovation project emerged in light of this outlook, a USD 650-million endeavor, 400 million of which were disbursed by CAF, which provided a structural solution to many of these problems, and gave Buenos Aires the push it needed to maximize the impact of business activity, facilitate urban mobility and boost productivity.

The main purpose of the renovation of Paseo del Bajo is to connect Puerto Madero and the Microcenter, which are physically separated by a few blocks but were actually detached due to the lack of adequate transport infrastructure. To this end, a 7.1-kilometer road corridor was proposed to connect the Illia and Buenos Aires-La Plata highways, which will separate light and cargo transport, thus reducing logistic costs associated to inter- and extra-city commerce, gas emissions and noise generation.

Paseo del Bajo has four exclusive lanes for trucks and long distance buses, and 8 lanes for small vehicles, which will reduce travel times for more than 100,000 vehicles per day. It also boasts state-of-the-art services, such as the “freeways without barriers” system, which incorporates electronic non-stop toll-by-plate, thus helping reduce pollution and save fuel.

Benefits will also include an urban transformation by creating cleaner, more efficient and safer environments, as well as extending the mobility of pedestrians and cyclists by incorporating bike paths and bridges. An area of 60,000 sq m will be recovered for public use, providing a new green lung for the city, where Porteños can engage in leisure and recreational activities. It will also have a direct impact on the city’s economy, reducing commute costs and improving the business competitiveness, with positive direct impacts on urban productivity.  

This project is especially relevant for CAF, as it represents the type of comprehensive interventions for development that the institution promotes in urban areas throughout the region through its Cities with a Future program.

As part of its commitment to Argentina’s development, CAF approved approximately USD 4.7 billion for the nation in the last five years (2014-2018), through infrastructure, integration, productivity and social inclusion projects.