Colombia’s Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura (ANI) infrastructure-project agency president Dimitri Zaninovich on March 13 publicly hailed what he termed as multi-billion-dollar investments in “fourth generation” (4G) highways connecting Medellin and Antioquia to key ocean freight ports.

In a speech following inspection of Colombia’s first-ever unified air-freight inspection zone at Medellin’s Jose Maria Cordova (JMC) international airport – now 56% complete and due for start-up by December 2018 -- Zaninovich cited “4G” investments that would top COP$23 trillion [US$8 billion], benefitting Medellín and Antioquia.

Zaninovich claimed that the projects are moving ahead promptly. But he failed to highlight that the crucial “Pacifico 1” divided highway -- linking the southern Medellin suburb of Caldas to Colombia’s main Pacific port at Buenaventura via the under-construction “Pacifico 2” and “Pacifico 3” highways -- has been stalled for years, with little explanation on the hang-up.

“Pacífico 2 and Pacifico 3 have advanced by 33% and 40% respectively,” he said. “We can’t lose forward progress that Colombia has achieved until now, because we’re moving ahead -- and great infrastructure projects already are a reality,” he said.

“Public-private association” (APP in Spanish initials) contracts involved in highway, ocean-port and airport projects are unprecedented in Antioquia, he added. These 4G highway projects will cut freight transport times by at least 30%, he added.

Major cities in Colombia (including Medellin) are severely penalized by expensive freight transport costs -- the result of Colombia’s decades-long delays in building high-speed, divided highways over-and-through the nation’s steep, mountainous terrain.

To overcome this problem, the national government is working with private-sector development consortiums on all the "4G" highway projects including Pacífico 1, 2 and 3; Mar 1 and Mar 2; Conexión Norte; Autopista al Río Magdalena 2; and the 100%-private initiatives “Vías del Nus” and the “Antioquia-Bolívar” highway links, he added.

What’s more, ANI is also working to push-forward the “Transversal de las Américas” highway linking Atlantic ports as well as the proposed “Vial del Oriente” highway connecting the “oriente” (east of Medellin) region to Llanogrande (next-to the JMC international airport).

Zaninovich added that ANI also favors development of two proposed ocean-freight ports near Turbo, Antioquia: “Puerto Antioquia” and “Puerto de Pisisi.”