The resources seek to guarantee continuity and access to basic infrastructure services for the most vulnerable households and companies.
The World Bank approved a loan for US $ 750 million for Colombia. The resources seek to guarantee the continuity and access to basic infrastructure services of the most vulnerable households and companies, and promote the development of resilient and sustainable infrastructure in response to the crisis generated by COVID-19.
The first phase of the program began in 2020, with the support of a loan from the World Bank of US $ 500 million. This second phase of the program will focus on closing the energy, transportation and digital development infrastructure gaps. It will also support reforms aimed at maintaining access to private financing for long-term infrastructure development.
Those responsible for the coordination and implementation of this project will be the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, and the National Planning Department.
“We hope that this program will accelerate the transition to cleaner and more resilient energy and transportation systems for the benefit of all Colombians and the environment. We also hope that access to digital infrastructure in rural areas will be improved, which will reduce inequalities, ”said Ulrich Zachau, World Bank director for Colombia and Venezuela.
For his part, Luis Alberto Rodríguez, general director of the National Planning Department, said that “this operation is of great relevance for the financing of the General Budget of the Nation for 2021. With it, the World Bank accompanies in a second phase the most relevant efforts that we have put in place for the economic reactivation of our economy, specifically in terms of resilient and sustainable infrastructure ”.
