Bogotá metro receives 2 credit lines to finance construction

The subway line will be one of Colombia's most important infrastructure projects.

The Bogotá Metro, which has been awaited for more than 80 years, will have the capacity to transport 72,000 passengers per hour and around one million passengers per day.

With a route totaling 23.9km, it will cross nine localities and will have 16 modern stations, significantly reducing mobility times. It will connect the Americas Portal with the Calle 72 station in only 27 minutes, a third of the time this route currently takes by public transport.

The first credit line, amounting to $230 million, was granted jointly by Bank of China (Panama branch), and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Panama branch), while the second credit line, for 1.2 billion Colombian pesos ($289 million), was granted by Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional, BBVA Colombia and Banco de Bogotá.

Law firm Cuatrecasas advised Metro Línea 1 S.A.S. on the loans, with a team led by Manuel Quinche and Juan Carlos Puentes, partners in the finance area of the Bogotá office, with the collaboration of Angie Gómez, Lorenzo Lizarralde and María Verónica Hernández.

Manuel Gómez, Carlos Méndez and Emilio Torres participated on behalf of the infrastructure area.

“This historic milestone would not have been possible without the collaboration and joint effort of all the actors involved,” Juan Carlos Puentes, a partner at Cuatrecasas, said.

“This project is a clear example of how the union between the private sector and the public sector, within the framework of project concessions, can materialize objectives that for decades seemed unattainable. This is just the beginning of a steady and continuous development that will include more subway lines, light commuter trains and the consolidation of a dignified public and mass transit system that will positively impact the lives of all Bogotá residents,” Puentes added.

In addition to improving mobility, the project will revitalize the urban environment with the intervention of 1,400,000 square meters of public space. It is estimated that, by the end of 2025, the project will have reached 65% completion, making it one of the largest first metro lines in the region.

It will also stimulate economic growth and employment, creating 17,000 new jobs, both direct and indirect.

From an environmental standpoint, the metro will reduce the capital's carbon footprint, thanks to its energy efficiency and the integration of sustainable criteria in its design, construction and operation. It is estimated that Bogota will stop consuming 59 billion gallons of fossil fuels, thus avoiding the emission of 171,000 tons of CO2 per year.
When it comes into operation, the metro line’s energy consumption will represent only an additional 1% of the city's energy demand, according to Cuatrecasas.