AmericasOperationsPorts and Logistics

Colombian river project draws interest from Carlos Slim firms

A project to increase marine cargo traffic on Colombia’s Magdalena River by making it more navigable could receive a much-needed boost from two companies linked to Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, according to Reuters.

The project, with an estimated cost of $857m, looked set to lose a major partner when Brazilian engineering giant Odebrecht said in May it would give up a large part (50% to 70%) of its majority 87% stake in the Navelena consortium running the project.

Now the Colombian government says that two firms in Slim’s Carso Group – IDEAL and FCC Americas – would like to take majority holdings without specifying the exact size of the stakes.

As envisaged the navigation project would involve deepening of the river so that large barges could transport commodities and agricultural goods along its 950-mile length in quantities predicted to reach 10 million tons by 2029.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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