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The increase planned for January 16, 2021 was suspended “while the details are closed between the National Infrastructure Agency and the concessionaire” so that the increase is 3% plus the CPI during this year.
After a wave of protests from citizens and the main authorities of the region, the Government took the decision to “suspend the increase in tolls on the highway to the plain, initially scheduled for January 16, 2021.”
The fate of the value of the tolls on the Bogotá Villavicencio road, the highest per route in Colombia, will be defined “until an agreement is reached with the concessionaire to increase only 3%, plus CPI (Consumer Price Index), having taking into account the difficult economic situation that the department of Meta is currently going through, ”says the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) in a statement.
(You may be interested in: From January 16, tolls for the highway to Llano will add up to $ 46,800)
The 7.8% increase in existing tolls on the road that connects the capital of Meta with Bogotá triggered a movement to reject the increase.
The initiative to suspend the hike arose from the workshops held with the governor of Meta, Juan Guillermo Zuluaga and the mayor of Villavicencio, Felipe Harman. In addition, the senators Maritza Rodríguez, Jonatan Tamayo and the representatives Jennifer Arias, Jaime Rodríguez and Alejandro Vega participated. There were representatives from the unions, the oversight and the Villavicencio Chamber of Commerce.
The ANI press release says that, during the work tables, in which the concessionaire also participated, the numbers were reviewed and the financial model was run and in this way it was possible to reduce the impact on the increase in toll from 7.8% to just 3%.
“The national government is committed to the department of Meta. We know that in recent months the economy of the region has been affected, therefore, we decided to make viable the proposal to increase the toll rate of the Bogotá-Villavicencio road by just 3% more CPI ”, highlights the report from press of the state entity.
(More information: Government forced to unblock the privatization plan by 2021)
Recently, the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) and Coviandina reported that “the toll rates that will be charged at the Boquerón I and II, Naranjal and Pipiral stations will be modified, applying the equivalent value to the Road Safety Fund ($ 200) , the percentage established by the concession contract (7.8%) and the 2020 CPI released by DANE (1.61%) ”.
The ANI stressed that the review of the cost of tolls will continue so that, “between now and April we have the agreement closed and approved.” The president of the ANI, Manuel Felipe Gutiérrez, indicated that the studies continue together with the concessionaires of the road to determine the real value of the existing tolls.
With the increase, which was repealed today, a category I vehicle will pay $ 14,400 in the Boquerón I and II toll, $ 12,200 in Naranjal and $ 20,200 in Pipiral. In other words, a private car would pay $ 46,800 for the route to the Llano road. And for the rest of the vehicle categories the increase is proportional, of more than 9%.
Once the news of the increase in tolls was known, different sectors requested the repeal of resolution 1131 that established the increases.
The highway’s concessionaire, Coviandina, had justified the increase by arguing that users “enjoy 32.6 kilometers of tunnels, 14.6 kilometers of bridges and more than 60 kilometers of surface track, making it the only corridor in the country with these characteristics. , as far as road infrastructure is concerned ”.
The report recalls that the works of the Chirajara-Fundadores project register an 80.05% progress. In this corridor, the construction of 22.72 kilometers of second carriageway, six tunnels, 20 vehicular bridges and seven pedestrian bridges is contemplated. This project has a total length of 85.6 kilometers and the investment is $ 2.99 billion.
One of the most representative works is the Buenavista tunnel, the largest in this road corridor, as it is 4,558 meters long and is located between the Bijagüal and Buenavista sectors. To date, it has registered an advance of 65.59%.
