The Spanish group, leader in highways in the country, wants another three toll roads.
Sacyr is the largest infrastructure group in Colombia, with four highways under management. The construction company wants to consolidate that position with the second wave of concessions launched in the country for a value of around 5,000 million euros. The Spanish group is among the investors bidding for the first projects of the 5G road program. At stake more than 1,000 million euros of investment that will be awarded in the coming days.
The two most advanced projects are the Troncal del Magdalena 1 (Puerto Salgar-Barrancabermeja) and Troncal del Magdalena 2 (Sabana de Torres-Curumaní) highways. These are two newly built roads with a joint estimated investment of around 1,200 million euros.
Sacyr, which is the only company that attends these tenders alone, faces stiff competition, mainly from its Spanish rivals. In Trunk 1, the consortium formed by Ferrovial with Acciona is measured; OHLA’s with Termotécnica (it won the Accesos Norte 2 highway in Colombia for an investment of around 315 million a month ago); and Grupo Ortiz, which has joined forces with KMA. In Trunk 2 only Sacyr and Ortiz compete.
The Colombian Government seeks to consolidate two dual carriageway highways along 531 kilometers that will allow a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
These are not the only projects that Sacyr is pursuing in Colombia. The company chaired by Manuel Manrique is waiting for the authorities to agree to tender the Río Magdalena concession, a river project that consists of the recovery of the navigability of the Magdalena River, with the intervention of 668 kilometers between Bocas de Ceniza (Barranquilla) and Barrancabermeja (Santander).
It is an old initiative that Colombia awarded to the Brazilian Odebrecht a few years before the corruption plot of the Rio de Janeiro construction company was discovered. The Mexican Carlos Slim, through FCC, came to express interest in this project that the Government finally intends to relicit, although with accumulated delay.
The contest could be conditioned by the proximity of the presidential elections that will be held on May 29. At the moment, in the polls, the candidate of the left, Gustavo Petro, is ahead.
Sacyr currently manages more than 500 kilometers of highways in Colombia in different stages of development. In total, the assets add up to investments worth 2,300 million euros. The production portfolio in the country amounts to about 4,200 million euros.
On the other hand, the US fund GIP has lent Sacyr and the Italian Finnic 450 million euros, which the two partners have guaranteed with future dividends from the Pedemonata-Veneta highway.