Autopista al Mar 1

in implementation

The Autopista al Mar 1 (the Project) is one of the Colombian national government’s fourth generation (4G) road concession projects. The Project, with plans to intervene in approximately 76 kilometers of highway, is located in the department of Antioquia, Colombia. It starts at the Western Fernando Gómez Martínez tunnel, passes through the municipalities of Medellín, San Jerónimo, Sopetrán, and Santafé in Antioquia and continues on until reaching Cañasgordas and Salgar in western Antioquia. It provides for the construction of 41 bridges and one tunnel and includes: i) improvement of the existing lane and construction of a second lane in the Medellín - Santa Fe section in Antioquia (33 km); ii) construction of the 5 kilometer second tube of the Western Tunnel; iii) rehabilitation of the Bolombolo - Santa Fe section in Antioquia (62 km); and iv) operation and maintenance of the roadway between Santa Fe in Antioquia to Cañasgordas (66 km).The Project has been divided into four Functional Units (unidades funcionales - UFs): i) UF1 Western Tunnel – San Jerónimo, which extends for 19 kilometers, with plans to improve the current lane and construct a second lane; ii) UF2, which extends for 76 kilometers and has been divided into two sections: UF2.1, which extends for 14 kilometers, with plans to improve the current lane and construct a second lane between San Jerónimo and Santa Fe in Antioquia; and UF2.2 which corresponds to the Santa Fe de Antioquia – Cañas Gordas section with plans for the operation and maintenance of 62 kilometers of current road and rehabilitation of the 25 kilometer section between Cañasgordas and Cativo; iii) UF3, the Aburrá Cauca road connection – Western Tunnel section connection, with plans to construct the second tube of the Western Tunnel and its access roads (5 km) and the operation and maintenance of the tunnel and existing road (10 km); and UF4, which also been divided into four sections: UF4.1 with plans for the rehabilitation of the existing road and improvement of the bridge over the San Juan river (5 km) between the Bolombolo Crossroad and the bridge over the San Juan river (Peñalisa); and UF4.2, with plans for rehabilitation of the existing 66 kilometer road between Bolombolo and Santa Fe in Antioquia.Once completed, the Project will improve mobility and competitiveness between the city of Medellín and the country’s main road concessions, uniting them with the main commercial trade centers like the Caribbean coast (Urabá, Antioquia) and the Pacific coast (Buenaventura).IDB Invest's participation will help to supplement long-term financing, in collaboration with international commercial banks and local banks providing funds in dollars and Colombian pesos.