general news 217
Colombia’s national infrastructure agency (ANI) announced April 14 that just-completed upgrades to Medellin’s downtown Olaya Herrera airport enable the start-up of international executive-jet flights in May 2016 -- just before the World Economic Forum (WEF) conference.
Two young inventors from Antioquia -- Rafael Vides Mesa and Daniel Cuartas Quiceno -- are among 10 national candidates for the “Colombia Great Inventor” prize competition this year.
Sweden-based high-tech systems provider Saab announced March 30 that downtown Medellin’s Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport (national flights) and the nearby José María Córdova International Airport (international flights originating at Rionegro) will get aircraft navigational upgrades.
Cormagdalena – the Colombian government agency overseeing a proposed scheme that would restore commercial navigation on the Magdalena River between the Atlantic Ocean and key inland ports – announced March 29 that it has set a May 11 deadline by which dredging-project proponent Navelena SAS must provide crucial documentation required for project finance.
Medellin-based power giant EPM announced March 25 the successful delivery of the last of eight groups of replacement cables and related equipment for repairing its 560-megawatt (MW) “Guatape” hydroelectric plant in Antioquia.
Medellin’s world-famous “Metro” transit system – featuring electric railcars, electric roadway trams, electric aerial tramways carrying passengers up steep mountainsides, natural-gas-powered bus rapid transit (BRT) systems and free bicycles adjacent to Metro stations – mobilized 258 million passengers in 2015, up 9.8% year-on-year.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced March 4 the launch of “Oro Legal” projects aiming to promote environmentally and socially responsible gold mining in Antioquia and Chocó departments.
A US$260 million bond float successfully organized by U.S.-based Goldman Sachs represents a big boost for Colombia’s massive “fourth generation” (4G) highway construction projects, which aim to overcome decades of logistical isolation from world markets.
Toronto-based PharmaCielo announced February 3 that it has petitioned Colombia’s Ministry of Health and the National Council on Narcotics for rights to build a marijuana farm and cannabis extract plant in the Medellin suburb of Rionegro, Antioquia.
