Health & Insurance.

Colombia Confirms 40 Million Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Unveils Five-Stage Vaccination Plan Starting February

Medellin Herald December 19, 2020

Colombia President Ivan Duque announced last night (December 18) in a nationally televised address that Colombia now has guaranteed supplies of 40 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and the Covax multinational consortium. As a result, “in the first weeks of 2021 we

Infrastructure

ISA Aims for 2024 Start-up of Colombia-Panama Electric Power Interconnection

Medellin Herald December 19, 2020

Medellin-based electric power transmission giant ISA announced December 12 that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the binational “Interconexion Electrica Colombia-Panama” (ICP) joint venture inked a technical cooperation funding deal in the run-up for a planned 2024 launch of the first-ever power-transfer connection line between Colombia and Panama. The

Infrastructure

Medellin-Bogota Highway Reopening at Landslide Site

Medellin Herald December 18, 2020

Colombia’s highway infrastructure agency Invias announced December 17 that it is gradually reopening two-way traffic on the Medellin-Bogota highway at kilometer 46, blocked by a recent landslide.  “So far, 3,500 cubic meters of material have been removed and progress is being made in the controlled unloading of 40,000 cubic meters of loose material for safe […]

General News

Medellin Discovers Nine More Bird Species Here During 2020

Medellin Herald December 14, 2020

Medellin’s Environment Secretary Diana María Montoya Velilla announced December 12 the first-ever confirmed sighting of a Southern Beardless Tyrannulet (Camptostoma obsoletum, see photo, above), making it the ninth recording of previously unrecorded bird species here this year. The bird, locally known as “mosquerito silbón,” was sighted in the Cerro Nutibara park, not far

Infrastructure

Medellin’s Avenida 80 Light-Rail Wins Finance, Completion Seen by 2026

Medellin Herald December 1, 2020

Colombia President Ivan Duque, Medellin Mayor Daniel Quintero and Antioquia Governor Aníbal Gaviria on November 30 joined in Bogota at an official signing ceremony guaranteeing finance for Medellin’s newest mass-transit project: the COP$3.54 trillion (US$991 million) Avenida 80 light-rail system. Under the deal, the Colombian government will contribute COP$2.4 trillion

Health & Insurance.

Health Institute Study Indicates 27% of Medellin Residents Already Infected with Covid-19

Medellin Herald November 27, 2020

Colombia’s National Health Institute (INS in Spanish initials) director Martha Ospina announced November 26 that a seroprevalence study of a statistically representative sample of Medellin residents indicates that 27% of people here likely have already been infected with Covid-19 — and hence show antibodies in their bloodstreams. While that 27% figure suggests that

General News

Air Europa Restarts Medellin-Madrid Nonstop Flights in November

Medellin Herald October 19, 2020

Spain-based Air Europa announced October 19 that it will resume nonstop flights between Medellin’s Jose Maria Cordoba (MDE) international airport and Madrid (MAD), Spain. “As of November, Air Europa resumes its flights to Bogotá, Medellín, Caracas and Havana and increases frequencies to Santo Domingo, Quito and Guayaquil,” according to the company. By year-end 2020, Air

Infrastructure

Crucial ‘Mar 1’ Highway Hits 75% Advance, ‘Vias del Nus’ Project Now at 70%

Medellin Herald October 19, 2020

Colombia’s national infrastructure agency (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura, ANI) announced October 19 that the “Mar 1” highway project connecting Medellin westward to current and future Atlantic ports has jumped-ahead to 75% completion. Meanwhile, the “Vias del Nus” highway project linking Medellin northward to the “Ruta del Sol” connection to Cartagena and Santa Marta

Health & Insurance.

Medellin Mayor: Covid-19 Case Under-Reporting Could Mean 1 Million in Area Already Infected, 96% Recovered

Medellin Herald October 18, 2020

Medellin Mayor Daniel Quintero on October 17 issued a startling analysis indicating that the Medellin metro area likely has already surpassed 1 million Covid-19 cases with 96% of those likely recovered. According to the Mayor’s analysis (see: https://medellin.gov.co/irj/portal/medellin?NavigationTarget=navurl://96fe4145738006ecf074a9e8fc82bccc), “in some countries it

Infrastructure

EPM Completes 35 Measures to Slash Odors from Huge Sewage Treatment Plant

Medellin Herald October 16, 2020

Medellin-based utilities giant EPM announced October 16 that it has now completed all 35 scheduled measures to slash foul odors from its recently inaugurated “Aguas Claras” sewage treatment plant in the northern Medellin suburb of Bello. The only remaining measure (number 36) is to complete a neighborhood survey asking local people about the effectiveness of […]