Duque Announces $4.5 Billion Investment of Pension Funds for Infrastructure Projects

In the last few hours, the President of the Republic, Iván Duque Márquez, announced that private pension funds, affiliated with Asofondos, will invest an additional $4.5 billion to increase road coverage and connectivity in Colombia.

The decision was informed after an extensive meeting at Casa de Nariño in which members of the national government such as Finance Minister José Manuel Restrepo and the spokespersons and presidents of the pension funds participated, including the president of Asofondos, Santiago Montenegro.

He also pointed out that the investment of the funds will be made in companies working on the development of interconnection infrastructure and the development of energy projects, which makes it possible to speak of a portfolio of close to an additional $33 billion.

It may interest you: Iván Duque will present the progress of the Final Peace Agreement before the UN Security Council

At the same time, he indicated that the injection of funds will seek “the well-being of citizens and is financed responsibly with the savings of Colombians.” Something that, he said, will generate profitability for them, “boosting the country's social and economic development, creating jobs and transforming the regions.”

He also added that the investments that have been made in the concession models, through capital funds, have allowed Colombia to complete many strategic works.

“With this announcement made by the pension funds, of this additional investment in infrastructure, we will undoubtedly have more companies participating in the calls for tenders for the new projects that are envisaged for our country. And that, also, they have to do with projects to adapt to climate change, projects such as the recovery of the Canal del Dique or the navigability of the Magdalena River and, also, projects to expand the national airport network, railway projects”, he said.

In this regard, Montenegro highlighted the sector's commitment to the country's infrastructure works and mentioned some already delivered such as Mar 1, the coastal concession; the Alto Magdalena Concession, the Cocoa Route; the Cambao-Manizales highway; the Transversal del Sisga; the 4G Neiva-Girardot; Pacific 2 and Pacific 3, among others.

The president of Asofondos also pointed out that the money has participation in hotels, housing, shopping centers, commerce and storage. “Without the resources of the funds of 18 million members, these works would not exist, nor would the country have welfare,” he added.

In line with the above, he said that “the calculation is that all these projects have generated 110,000 jobs and 70% of the workforce has been local in the regions where they were developed.”

KEEP READING: