The president of the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), Sergio Díaz-Granados, announced this Friday morning an investment of 9 billion dollars, approximately 29 trillion pesos, for Colombia during the government of president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella. “We are going to double the investment. We will do in the next four years what we did in the last eight,” said Díaz-Granados during the agreement presentation event at EIA University in Medellín.
The meeting was attended by De la Espriella; the vice president-elect and former rector of that university, José Manuel Restrepo; the designated Minister of Finance, Miguel Gómez Martínez; the mayor of Medellín and political ally of the president, Federico Gutiérrez; the governor of Antioquia, Andrés Julián Rendón; and the businessman Jorge Mario Velásquez, president of the University’s Superior Council. The next head of state took the opportunity to announce that Velásquez will be one of the new members of Ecopetrol’s board of directors.
De la Espriella signed the commitment and thanked the new resources entering the country. “The financing framework transcends the financial, it is a vote of confidence in Colombia,” said the far-right president, who has prioritized contacts with multilateral organizations. “I want Colombians to rest assured that these resources will be invested with absolute rigor; there will be no room for waste and corruption. Every dollar will end up converted into roads, energy, drinking water, employment, and opportunities for our people,” he said.
Vice President Restrepo celebrated the new strategic alliance: “It is a positive message for investors, international markets, and for macroeconomic figures that will be reflected in the improvement of the lives of Colombians,” he said at a press conference after the event. The former Minister of Finance also assured that part of the resources will be invested in guaranteeing energy security, from renewable energies to gas production.
The commitment between CAF and the Government, which begins on August 7, aims to boost the country’s development focused on security, health, energy, and infrastructure projects. “The 9 billion dollars will serve the private sector, local governments, banks working in Colombia, and, of course, the nation to improve its public finances,” said Díaz-Granados, who is Colombian and was Minister of Commerce a decade ago, in a dialogue with journalists. The president of the multilateral also explained that there will be 1.2 billion dollars of investment for mayors and governors.
This Friday, a first investment from CAF to the city of Medellín was formalized for the financing of public works, as well as a 100 million dollar loan for the energy company Celsia, based in Antioquia, for the development of energy transition projects.
The financial package, CAF assures, is the most ambitious commitment the bank has made in Colombia. “It is structured around four main axes: energy security; infrastructure for productivity; prosperity and social inclusion; territorial presence and strengthening. With this scheme, CAF will channel unprecedented resources to improve people’s lives, deliver solutions at scale, close gaps, Every dollar will end up converted into roads, energy, drinking water, employment, and opportunities for our people” guarantee territorial development and generate prosperity,” reads a statement released by CAF.
*This article was published thanks to an invitation from CAF
