The Bogotá Metro Company reported that The supervision approved the request of the ML1 Concessionaire to purchase 15 days of additional time to be able to finish the work on the 72nd Street Interchange, whose completion was scheduled for October 8, 2024. In this way, the concessionaire will have to pay $292 million pesos to the EMB, an amount that will be deducted from the remuneration agreed in the concession contract.
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With the purchase of the term by Metro Line 1, The work must be delivered on October 24. However, it is worth clarifying that the development of the interchange works does not affect the schedule for the start of commercial operations of Metro Line 1, set for March 14, 2028.
The manager of the Bogotá Metro Company, Leonidas Narváez, considered that this period is insufficient to complete the work, However, he clarified that the procedure established in the concession contract must be followed, which, in this case, allows the Concessionaire ML1 SAS to decide the amount of time it buys to complete the works.
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Construction will be carried out in three phases: the first will go from the Las Américas portal to Caracas, along Primero de Mayo Avenue. The second phase will go to 72nd Street along Caracas Avenue, to complete an extension of 25.29 kilometers with a total of 15 stations. The third phase of construction includes the metro up to 127th Street.
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The EMB will continue to monitor and demand that the ML1 Concessionaire comply with the schedules and carry out the activities for the smooth running of the project.
In this regard, Narváez explained that: “Although work on 72nd Street has been intensified to meet the schedule, including a double work shift with more than 400 workers, and we managed to get the subcontractor changed to one with more experience through our efforts and pressure, the progress achieved is not sufficient to meet the planned date, October 8.” For this reason, the concessionaire requested the purchase of a deadline for delivery of the work.
The works on the 72nd Street interchange are not associated with the construction of the viaduct on Line 1 of the Bogotá Metro. As of July 31, 2024, the progress of the interchange is 73.90%Narváez added that he hopes that the public space and the connecting roads will be finished before the 30th, which will hopefully reduce the impact on the community.
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Bogotá Metro works.
Bloomberg
In case that the Concessionaire does not comply with this new date, October 24, the clause of the contract It provides that the Supervision may grant a reasonable curing period to complete the work. If, once the curing period has ended, the work has not been delivered, a sanctioning process would be initiated that could end with the imposition of a fine.
Paula Galeano Balaguera
Portfolio Journalist
