FDN Loans 200 Billion Pesos To The 4G Autopista Río Magdalena 2 Highway Project

Colombia’s National Development Finance company (FDN) today announced the closure of a $200 billion pesos senior loan for the Río Magdalena 2 Highway Project. The 153.2km project will connect Medellín with the Ruta del Sol highway and with the department of Santander and will also improve Bogotá’s connection with the Caribbean ports. Likewise, it will represent a reduction of 1.5 hours between Puerto Boyacá and Cartagena, and 1.4 hours between Medellín’s northern suburb of Bello and Caucasia in Antioquia’s northern coastal plains.

The project has total financing of 2.76 billion pesos, of which 825 billion are in pesos, 747 billion pesos financed in dollars, 278 billion in UVR and 915 billion in bonds. The participation FDN in the financing is denominated in pesos.

“With this closing there is evidence of a boost in the financing of infrastructure projects in Colombia. At the FDN, we are working to continue participating actively in financing and to regain the momentum with which we came before the pandemic in order to support the development of infrastructure in the country,” said Francisco Lozano, president of the FDN.

With this financing secured as part of the 4G Program, 31 billion pesos of financing have been committed across 22 projects. 24% of the resources have come from local banks, 27% from institutional investors (debt funds 11%, institutional 16%), 35% from international sources and 14% from the FDN.

The sponsor of the Autopista Río Magdalena 2 project is Spanish firm Aleática S.A.U., according to FDN, a subsidiary of investment manager IFM Investors, which in turn is one of the largest Australian pension funds. IFM Investors has 25 years of experience investing in infrastructure projects with more than 52 billion dollars in equity and with a presence in 9 countries in 32 companies as part of its portfolio.

“This closing shows the interest and commitment of funders and investors to finance well-structured projects such as the Río Magdalena 2 Highway,” Lozano pointed out.