Colombia to build 1,800 km highway to link with Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Irish Sun

Colombia to build 1,800 km highway to link with Venezuela
Irish Sun
Tuesday 21st October, 2008
(IANS)



With an aim to improve trade in the region, Colombia is planning to build a nearly 1,800-km highway to link its Pacific coastal region with Venezuela, EFE news agency reported Tuesday, citing officials.

'It's a route we've been working on with the goal of improving competitiveness levels by connecting the most important Pacific port, Buenaventura, with the economic centres (of Colombia) Valle Cauca, the Coffee Axis and with country's second-largest trade partner Venezuela,' said Alvaro Jose Soto, director of the Inco national concessions agency.

'The project should be completely finished in 2012,' the official said, adding that majority of the highway project along the Buenaventura-Bogota-Cucuta corridor had been granted to private firms, which were investing some $1.76 billion.

Cucuta is a Colombian city on the border with Venezuela.

The project also calls for spending $731 million in taxpayer money for three stretches that are to remain under public control.


Read more: http://story.irishsun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/2411cd3571b4f088/id/420776/cs/1/

[maxsolomon]

1. yay! more internal combustion engines!

is there a rail link?

[Peace Patriot]

4. Yes, but I don't know if it's the same route. A few months back, Chavez and Uribe

had a "bury the hatchet" meeting (long story) at which they announced joint Venezuela-Colombia projects, and one of the main ones was a railroad linking their countries.

[Kalifornia.Kid]

2. Cocaína Express to the ports of Buenaventura and then the ships and submarines take over

[Nambe]

3. The Ho Chi Minh Trail revisited. I will bet we are paying for it.