During the annual congress of the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure (CCI), the Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, announced that the pending adjustment in toll rates will be carried out in a single stage, starting at the beginning of 2025. This measure rules out the initial proposal of the Minister of Transportation, María Constanza García, which had suggested dividing the increase into two moments, one at the end of 2024 (missing 4.64% of the 2023 CPI) and another at the beginning of 2025 (like every year).
(Read: The bidding process for the El Estanquillo – Popayán road corridor begins).
“The adjustment process will be unique. Inflation has dropped and is in the process of control, which allows us to normalize toll rates in a single situation, starting next year.”Bonilla said. The minister explained that annual inflation reached 5.4% in October, and is expected to close the year around 5%.
“This means that, if we have been adjusting this, we are at the moment of normalizing toll prices. That is the expectation, that it will not be in two, but in a single moment”Bonilla noted.
(See: ‘Legal guarantees must be maintained to attract investments’: Odinsa).
This adjustment is based on the 9.28% increase that corresponds to the 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI), and which only rose by half (4.64% in the month of August), leaving the remaining figure pending. . If the year ends with inflation at 5% this year, tolls would rise 9.64% next year.
Minister García’s original plan had proposed applying the adjustment in two stages, in order to mitigate the impact for users of national highways. However, the new approach adopted by the Government seeks to simplify the process and avoid a fragmented increase that could generate confusion or dissatisfaction among users.
“The measure seeks to provide stability and predictability to Colombians, consolidating the pending increases in a single movement”Bonilla noted.
(Besides: Construction of the 5G Troncal Magdalena 1 officially begins).
This adjustment, he noted, will be applied in a transparent manner and aligned with inflation rates, which seeks to give drivers certainty about the costs of road transportation in the coming years.
In addition, The Government has indicated that the decision to carry out the adjustment at a single moment also responds to the current conditions of the economy, in which inflation has shown signs of stabilization and control. This decision seeks, on the one hand, to ensure that resources from tolls continue to be allocated to the maintenance and improvement of road infrastructure, and on the other, to guarantee that the impact of this adjustment is not shocking for drivers, given the economic environment in the one where the country is located.
Paula Galeano Balaguera
PORTFOLIO
