Duque begins construction of Bogotá's Science, Technology and Innovation District

On Tuesday, March 15, the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, announced the association of the national government for the construction of the Bogotá Science, Technology and Innovation District, which envisages a total investment of $300 billion to be contributed by private and public sectors in the country.

This was announced by the president during an event held together with representatives of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, its subsidiary Corferias, the Mayor's Office of Bogotá, the Government of Cundinamarca, who will be responsible for developing this project, in which he indicated that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism will be in charge of support its consolidation.

“This initiative will contribute to consolidating Bogotá as the capital of entrepreneurship and innovation in Latin America, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs to access investment capital and services that will promote business and job creation,” said the President of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, Nicolas Uribe Rueda.

This initiative, which envisages the construction of 400 square metres, which will establish a coworking model available to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, aims to strengthen the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in the capital, as well as to position the city and the region as a hub for research and development by 2026 in the international arena.

At the same time, an investment of $300 billion is envisaged, which will include $11,000 for pre-feasibility studies, contributed by the Chamber of Commerce and the District, as well as $286,570 million for the acquisition of the property, the construction of the headquarters building and the first phase of the office building.

For its part, the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce announced that it will contribute 51% of the resources, and the remaining 49% will be delivered by allied entities of the public sector: the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, the Government of Cundinamarca and the Capital District.

“The Science, Technology and Innovation District of Bogotá will have two types of business model: a real estate business, which will generate income from the rental of spaces, and a business related to science, technology and innovation activities, which will generate revenue from the provision of services,” said the national government.

Over the next 10 years, Colombia will have a fund of 30 billion pesos available to promote science, technology and innovation in the country. Of the money, it was indicated that 20 billion are delivered to the sector through Conpes, and the other 10 billion will be delivered through the General System of Royalties.

“Where were the resources for this sector? What investments are we talking about, which are coming out of the public sector? The Conpes 469, which we made ready in December last year, allows us to say that, in the next 10 years, without counting royalties, we are talking about 20 billion in investment for this sector. Another historic milestone for science, technology and innovation in our country,” reported the president, Iván Duque.

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