General News

Medellin-Bogota Highway Finally Reopened; ‘Mar 2’ Gets Financial Close

Medellin Herald January 17, 2017

Medellin’s decades-long battle to overcome logistical isolation from world markets took two more steps this month as highway concessionaire Devimed partially cleared a huge landslide blocking the Medellin-Bogota highway — and the crucial “Mar 2” project linking Medellin to Atlantic ports

Health & Insurance.

Medellin, Colombia International-Health Sectors Seen Growing in 2017

Medellin Herald January 3, 2017

Editor’s Note: The following article — originally authored in Spanish by Colombia Ministry of Health economist Jhon Gonzalez Lindarte — is reprinted by special permission granted to Medellin Herald by El Pulso, the monthly newsletter published by Medellin-based San Vicente Fundacion. Despite the current panorama of financial troubles in Colombia’s

Congresses & Conferences

Medellin Hosts 29th Annual Colombiatex Textiles Show January 24 – 26

Medellin Herald December 28, 2016

Inexmoda — Colombia’s national textile and fashion-industry trade association — on December 20 unveiled details on the upcoming “Colombiatex” textile and fashion-trends show in Medellin January 24-26, 2017. The 29th edition of the annual show – one of the biggest and most important in all of Latin America – is expected to draw some 1,800 […]

General News

‘Medellin Como Vamos 2016’ Positive, but Pollution, Traffic, Health Biggest Concerns

Medellin Herald December 7, 2016

The annual “Medellin Como Vamos” (“How Are We Doing?”) citizen survey released December 6 found that most residents are generally positive about living conditions. But pollution, traffic and health services remain as top concerns. Medellin’s air pollution is mainly the result of a huge increase in vehicle traffic combined with large numbers of obsolete,

General News

ANI Announces Completion of La Pintada-Medellin Highway Upgrades

Medellin Herald December 5, 2016

Colombia’s national infrastructure agency (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura, ANI) announced December 5 that upgrades to the existing, two-lane highway between the southern Medellin suburb of Primavera and the municipality of La Pintada (adjacent to the Cauca River) have now been completed. This 54-kilometers-long upgrade — part of the “Conexion Pacifico 2” highway

Expat Businesses

Boosting Organic Panela Exports from Antioquia: U.S. Expat Charts New Course

Medellin Herald December 2, 2016

U.S. expat Scott Unkefer – a former Coloradan and Floridian but now living in Medellin – is cranking-up novel projects that aim to expand production and exports of organic panela from Antioquia to U.S. and Canadian specialty food-and-beverage markets. Panela (unrefined brown sugar) is well-known in Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America – with Colombia […]

General News

Fitch: Medellin Municipal Bonds Get ‘AAA(col)’ Long-Term Rating

Medellin Herald November 30, 2016

Wall Street bond rater Fitch announced November 23 that it affirmed the city of Medellin’s national long-term bond rating at “AAA(col)” with a “stable” outlook and the short-term rating at ‘F1+(col)’. Fitch has also affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at “BBB.” While the rating outlook “remains negative,” this outlook “reflects the ‘negative

Tourism

Iberia Launches Nonstop Medellin-Madrid Flights in March

Medellin Herald November 30, 2016

Spanish airline Iberia announced November 24 that it will launch three-times-a-week, nonstop service between Medellin’s international airport and Madrid starting March 26 – hence eliminating the current stop in Cali, Colombia. The flights will employ the new A330-200 Airbus planes – 269 seats in tourist-class section and 19 seats in the business-class section, according to

General News

Plane Crash Near Medellin Airport Claims Brazilian Soccer Team

Medellin Herald November 29, 2016

A BAe-146 jet aircraft (photo above) operated by Bolivia-based charter airline LaMia crashed near Medellin’s Jose Maria Cordoba (JMC) international airport around 10 p.m. November 28, killing 75 passengers and crew — including most of the members of the “Chapecoense” Brazilian soccer team. According to the official press statement from JMC airport operator Airplan,

Health & Insurance.

Health Care in Medellin: English Options Expanding for Expats, Medical Tourists

Medellin Herald November 26, 2016

Medellin’s hospital, clinic and dental sector enjoys an expanding reputation for high quality and relatively low prices — which explains why an increasing number of resident expats and medical tourists come here for all sorts of surgical procedures. Part of the reason for these success stories can be credited to the bilingual Salud Sin Fronteras […]