A consortium made up of China Harbour Engineering (CHEC) and Xi’an Metro has been named winner of the contest to build Bogotá’s metro, a project previously valued at $4.3bn.
The consortium, APCA Transmimetro, was in a two-horse race with Consorcio Metro de Bogotá, which was made up of FCC of Spain with Carso Infraestructura y Construcción, the contractor owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.
The decision had been expected on Monday, 21 October, but the Colombian president Ivan Duque announced on Tuesday, 15 October, that the Chinese team had won.
"Today is a cause for celebration for all Bogotá residents, and for all of Colombia. Here begins the real metro that the city has been waiting decades for," he said.
APCA Transmimetro, which is 85% owned by CHEC and 15% by Xi’an, will now build the first line of the city’s metro on a design, build and operate basis, after which it will operate it for 20 years. The electrified line will have 16 stations over 24km, and its 23 trains may move as many as 3 million passengers a day.
Bogotá’s mayor, Enrique Penalosa, said work would begin in the first half of next year and the line would be operational by 2025.
The Chinese consortium obtained the highest score in all the factors evaluated, achieving 100 points compared with Metro de Bogotá’s 94.54 points.
Image: A rendering of the 24km metro (Systra)
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