Bogotá Metro: the crossover of statements between Petro and Duque

The controversy over the construction of the Bogota Subway keep going. to the tension between National government and the Bogota City Hall positions and opinions of different political leaders of the country have been united. And the most recent to join the discussion was the former president Ivan Duke.

(See: Manager of the Bogotá Metro requests rectification from ex-prosecutor Martínez).

The former president assured on his social networks that “a city like Bogotá must have several Metro lines. Some will be elevated and others underground as it happens in other cities of the world“.

Then, he remembered that the capital It already has an elevated line in progress and an underground line financed. “For the good of Bogotá, let the Metro not stop,” he added.

At Duque’s words, President Petro responded and said: “In the Conpes that you signed, Iván decided to prohibit the underground Metro and caused an embezzlement that today reaches 20 billion pesos“(SIC).

Petro continued and said that will lift that ban and “the mega-loss of public resources for not building the underground Metro is irreversible“.

And it is that the president has insisted that the Metro must be underground, despite the fact that the contract for the first line that is already signed, and in progress, keeps it high. For Petro, as he himself stated, that is a “grotesque, a joke“.

(See: Comptrollers with the magnifying glass placed on the first line of the Bogotá Metro).

Also, he has reiterated that, if this construction goes ahead, “three generations are going to curse us for having built that elevated Metro.”

In fact, the Government, through the Minister of Transportation, Guillermo Reyes, began to exercise a pressure on the mayoress Claudia López, by ensuring that if the changes are not heard, resources could be committed to finance other projects in the capital.

And López, in an interview with the newspaper EL TIEMPO, told Petro: “Bogotá does not deserve that mistreatment, that threat or that blackmail”.

“What the Bogotá region expects from President Petro is that he will leave the financing of the third line of the Metro, not that he stop the first. Nor that he is blackmailing the entire city by leaving it without works”, added the mayor.

(See: Petro denies that his position on the Metro is blackmail).

Former President Duque, in his administration, signed the co-financing agreement to commit resources for more than 34.9 trillion pesos to build the second line of the Metro, that will go to Suba and Engativá.

Promptly, The Conpes that Petro repairs is 4104, with which the Government committed itself “to co-finance with $40 billion the underground Metro, which will pass through Chapinero, Barrios Unidos, Suba and Engativá. It will also finance the new 13th street“explains the mayor.

(See: Bogotá Metro: in danger of suspension?).

There it is contemplated that this second line will be underground. “The total investment will be $34.9 billion, of which 70% will be financed with Nation resources and the remaining 30% contributed by the District. For the new 13th street, the National Government will have the same percentage of participation“, they expose.

Regarding the controversy and the Conpes pointed out by Petro, Duque stated that “The facts speak for themselves“.

“1. Conpes 3900 of September 25, 2017. First line of the Bogotá Metro (without any express prohibition). 2. Conpes 4104 of July 29, 2022. Second line of the Bogotá Metro (underground)“Duke said.

According to the Conpes, this will have a layout, mainly underground, with a tour from the northeast of the city, on Calle 72 with Avenida Caracas (directly benefiting the towns of Chapinero, Barrios Unidos, Engativá and Suba) until ending in the northwestern zone in Fontanar del Río, where the Patio Workshop will be located.

(See more information about the Bogotá Metro here).

“It is estimated that the demand for the line will be more than 49,000 passengers per hour in each direction.“, specifies the Conpes 4104.

WEATHER – POLITICS