Colombian department Antioquia’s Nueva Independencia highway will lead to a US$400mn expansion project at Turbo port in Urabá bay, an official from the department’s planning division told BNamericas.
After over a year of delays, national concessions authority Inco plans to launch the highway’s US$800mn concession tender this year.
Almost all of the road connecting the country’s second largest city Medellín to Turbo on the Caribbean Sea will be expanded to four lanes. The banana port currently handles about 1.8Mt/year of cargo.
The investment needed to expand the terminal will be made by the private sector, the official said.
Works will be divided into two phases. The first phase involves the improvement and expansion of the current port terminal. This will require a US$40-50mn investment and will increase the port’s cargo handling capacity by 2Mt/year, the official said.
This phase includes its conversion into an all-purpose terminal, increasing general cargo handling capacity by an additional 2Mt/y. <