China to form expert group to advise Colombia on railway projects
Photo: ANI Colombia.
The announcement was made by China’s ambassador to Bogotá, Zhu Jingyang, during a business roundtable organized with Colombia’s Ministry of Transport and the Colombo-Chinese Association. Zhu explained that Beijing will provide a group of international experts to work directly with the ANI, drawing on China’s unparalleled experience in building the world’s largest and most modern railway network.
The expert team will advise on key areas such as railway technology, financial structuring, contract models, environmental and social management, infrastructure construction, and operational efficiency. According to Zhu, this cooperation reflects China’s interest in boosting regional connectivity in Latin America and supporting Colombia’s transition to a more sustainable and competitive transport system.
The initiative will focus on six priority rail projects identified by ANI, including: The Interoceanic Corridor, designed to connect the Pacific and Atlantic coasts; the Pacific Corridor (Buenaventura-Palmira), vital for foreign trade; the Yumbo-Caimalito line, supporting industrial activity; the Villavicencio-Puerto Gaitán route, key for the Orinoquía region; the Bogotá Región link with the Central Corridor; and the Bogotá-Belencito Corridor, essential for heavy freight.
ANI president Óscar Torres Yarzagaray emphasized that the collaboration is the result of commitments made during his recent visit to China, where preliminary agreements were signed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in transport and infrastructure. Torres highlighted that Chinese technical assistance will help Colombia shorten its learning curve, gain access to knowledge transfer, and attract international investment in rail projects.
At the regional level, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates that Latin America will need around USD 400 billion in investments to modernize and expand its rail systems over the coming decades. Colombia, given its strategic geography and need to diversify transportation modes, is seen as a crucial part of this transformation.
Experts argue that China’s interest is part of a broader strategy to expand its influence in Latin America through large-scale infrastructure projects, aligned with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For Colombia, access to Chinese expertise could pave the way for financing and execution models capable of turning its underdeveloped rail network into a modern, interconnected, and sustainable system.
* Original text in Spanish. Translated by Large Language Model (LLM) technology.
Main Source:
China conformará un grupo de expertos para asesorar a Colombia en la estructuración de proyectos férreos – El Tiempo
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