In order not to further affect inflation, the Ministry of Transport is working on an administrative act -which will be known no later than January 16- to not increase the prices of some trips in the country.
However, what is left to be collected by this means will be sought to be recovered with the collection of the valuation tax for roads from 2024.
(Read also: MinTransporte will suspend the collection of the El Bordo toll on the Pasto-Popayán highway)
In an interview with EL TIEMPO, Minister Guillermo Reyes gave details of this issue and other projects that will be carried out in the sector during the government of President Gustavo Petro.
What solutions are you studying for the Pan-American Highway?
We are talking about two alternate roads and the construction of a dual carriageway variant (Timbío-El Estanquillo), which will be long-term because it is a public work and will be carried out by ANI. It will be 67 kilometers worth 4 billion pesos. It will pass behind the municipality of Rosas -it does not enter the geological fault- and it will arrive at a point called El Estanquillo.
The alternate highways lead to the Pan-American highway, but they are tertiary and maintenance and rehabilitation must be carried out. Invías has equipment to put them to work properly, although light vehicles are already circulating there.
In addition, it is being planned to do, probably, a bridge of about 80 meters What could be a solution on the secondary road to allow the passage of heavy transport. Where this bridge would go from is still being determined.
The Timbío-El Estanquillo variant is part of the 5G Pasto-Popayán of 270 kilometers and worth 12 billion pesos. However, not so many vehicles circulate there and it is not possible for the entire road to be dual carriageway, so we are going to prioritize sectors that need a new road or variants.
This project was in the second phase, but we are going to take it out in parts and We will start by Timbío-El Estanquillo. The studies can last a long year due to the purchase of land and the location of the resources, although sections are enabled as construction progresses.
How will the supply be guaranteed in this area?
Ecuador enabled the border to pass fuel, basic food and medicines. It will also enable the passage of cargo vehicles through an alternate route that would reach the Neiva area and from there enter the center of the country.
Also, we are going to use the port of tumaco to enable the entry of certain cargo to Buenaventura. Regarding the airway, the use of the Ipiales airport was enabled and the frequency of flights for cargo and passengers was increased.
(Also read: They announce measures to guarantee fuel supply in Nariño and Cauca)
Will there be control over ticket prices?
There were people who consulted in Latam and found tickets to 3 million pesos and EasyFly had Pasto-Cali flights at 1.2 million. Avianca said that when there are a lot of people looking for space, the rates go up, but that sounds strange to me. I certified copies to the SuperTransporte to investigate what was happening.
Avianca assured that it has its operation ready, enabled more flights and that will put a cap on tickets of 650,000 pesos. In times of crisis, people watch how they abuse others.
How do you manage to commit to so many projects when everything needs resources?
There are things in which one can compromise, you don’t need money at all. In many things people want to see the Government and believe it. What we did with Soat, the taxi drivers and truckers was listening to them, looking for solutions and verifying the rates of land tickets and the state of the roads.
People complained about Ruta del Sol and we immediately activated a contract to fix the entire road that was abandoned. We also approved the PPP to build the new international terminal at the Cartagena airport. This process is for 8 years and should be awarded, more or less, in August.
This airport cannot grow any more, but there is an initiative being structured for one in Bayunca, it will be a tremendous airport and almost a city is going to be built around this terminal. a second airport and the one in Cartagena will surely become a terminal for small flights.
What other projects are there for airports?
The San Andrés airport is a shame. It took seven years to do the work, waiting for the governor to give up some lots, but we already managed to do that. This semester the project is awarded.
What was the stubbornness of the previous minister who did not start any airport? They did not prioritize them because the priority was to award large 4G and 5G infrastructure projects, but zero railways, zero river navigation and zero airports. From Germán Vargas Lleras the issue of airports was left in the background.
Are travel fares going to be frozen?
The President asked us to review the possibility of not increasing the rates for those who are in charge of ANI (113) and Invías (30), due to the effects caused by the winter wave and inflation, in addition to the impacts on costs and the impact on sectors of the country. Therefore, the coverage of tariff risks and the imbalance in income must be compensated through the valuation scheme.
We have spoken with the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure (CCI) and with the concessionaires to evaluate the possibility that prices will not rise in 80 percent of the tolls and this could be translated into lower costs of land tickets, freight and transportation. operation of the national road network.
The only thing missing is for the Ministry of Finance to give its endorsement and the resources that are not collected due to the non-increase in tolls, which It would be approximately 500,000 million pesos, they are taken out of the budget and they will be returned with what we recover with the valuation.
From ANI, in the Executive, Risk and Legal vice-presidencies, as well as the Legal areas of MinTransporte and Invías, we are in the process of structuring, validating and signing the administrative act that will be released to the country no later than January 16.
(Also read: Avianca will have 14 additional flights to and from Pasto due to a landslide in Cauca)
What does this valuation charge consist of?
We have the legal power to charge valuation for the roads, what happens is nobody has done it. obviously, the valuation will not go to the less favored classes, these families will not be charged. This valuation will allow us to raise resources to finance works or to eliminate tolls. We hope that next year this theme will be ready to start charging. The higher the socioeconomic stratum and the size of the property, the more you will pay.
What other changes will there be in tolls?
We are working on the possibility of change the concept of differentials for tolls so that they are always applied. For example, a person who lives 200 to 500 meters away should not pay, whether they are poor or rich, but if they are between 1 and 10 kilometers they would pay 20 percent and between 10 and 15 kilometers, 40 percent, to say the least.
The first one who does not agree with the tolls and has wanted to put an end to the issue of tolls is President Petro and that is the task he has given us.
Which companies are interested in the Buenaventura-Costa Caribe train?
There are many interested companies from South Korea, Japan, the United States, China and England. this semester We will have the Bogotá-Belencito railway line ready and that of the Pacific, which is the route from Buenaventura to Tebaida, we are going to rehabilitate it.
We are also working on three large commuter rail projects: the one of Medellín (Tren del Río), Valle del Cauca (Jamundí-Cali-Yumbo) and the one of the Coast (Barranquilla-Santa Marta and Cartagena) for the transport of passengers and goods. The one that is most advanced is that of Cali.
What will happen to the transport platforms?
The taxi drivers raise several things, but one of them is the issue of the platforms, of which many of them are part. They ask us to regulate them so that they fulfill all the obligationsthat have passenger insurance and meet the basic requirements to provide the service.
We are working with the Ministries of Information Technology and Communications; Labor and Science, Technology and Innovation in a proposal. In addition, in the bill on the penalty regime -which would modify SuperTransporte- we have proposals against those who engage in illegal transport practices.
And what is the concrete proposal?
The first thing is that the issue be resolved definitively and that it be in Congress through a law. In addition, we differentiate what a platform as such is and the provision of a public service because many families live from this. youwe have to figure out what to do and we are going to do it together with all those involved in the sector.
Will they continue to insist on an underground Metro for Bogotá?
The presentation of the consortium’s proposal was postponed for a week because I had to travel to attend to the emergency in Rosas. We are going to continue insisting on the need for at least one section to be underground.
We are also going to start working with the ANI on the possibility of burying the entrance to Bogotá from the south. There are other sectors of the country that are asking for it, such as Cajamarca.
(Also read: These are the actions to overcome the emergency on the Pan-American Highway)
Will relief for air tickets be obtained in the Development Plan?
Last week we met with the airlines and Iata and they reviewed calling a working group that includes Fedesarrollo and Andi to determine what we are going to do. There are several options: return to a 5 percent VAT for air tickets; see how you can modify or eliminate some charges that have the tickets; and determine how airlines are also reaching into their pockets a bit and cutting ticket costs.
Are they going to approve the integration of Avianca and Viva Air?
This is decided by the deputy director of Air Safety of the Aerocivil, he has in his hands the appeal, the evidence, the resources and asked him to resolve it as soon as possible. Before the end of January the issue is resolved because the longer a decision takes, where Viva is indeed in a very critical situation and the State has not made any decisions, we will be responsible.
If Viva loses frequencies and passengers because we do not act on time, the responsibility is passed to the Government. Then If the situation is truly critical, it will be necessary to consider what is the decision to make. If the situation is really different, Aerocivil will decide whether to deny the integration.
What are the permits to fly to Venezuela?
We are waiting for Satena’s board of directors to give President Petro the approval of the routes and that they will hand over the resources for the acquisition of three aircraft. The president is going to authorize one more airline to fly to Venezuela.
Will measures be taken on scrapping?
We are taking measures on the scrapping of vehicles in the Transit Code that we are going to take to Congress. The courtyards of the municipalities are full of motorcycles because the owners prefer to leave it there for life than claim it. We would give a deadline to claim, and if not, we would proceed to scrap.
What other issues are you working on?
We are working on making the digital driving license as was done with the ID and we hope that its price will drop by a very high amount. This could be ready in the second semester. Likewise, we want to work on the digital plate to facilitate the collection of tolls or for fines. We are in the process of digitizing everything to end corruption. We can remove many things without having to go to Congress and others will go into the Transit Code.
LINA QUIROGA BLONDE
ECONOMY