Dive into the infinity pool to cool off and relax, or enjoy a well-deserved rest in the sauna. With 400 square meters built, this property gives you the space you need to live comfortably. In addition, its beautiful green area with a garden will connect you with nature and provide you with a calm and harmonious environment. The second house will surprise you with its 411 square meters distributed in 2 independent levels. Each level has its own kitchen, giving you the option of privacy and versatility.

With 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths, and 2 half baths, there is more than enough space for the whole family. Let yourself be enveloped by the fascinating view in the jacuzzi and store your vehicles in the covered garage. In addition, it has two useful rooms for additional storage. All this complemented by a spectacular view that will take your breath away.

Do not miss the opportunity to live in a privileged environment, where each sunrise and each sunset becomes a gift for your senses. Delight yourself with this amazing view every day. Your dream home awaits you!

• Lot Area: 7,400 m2
• House Area 1: 400 m2
• House Area 2: 411 m2
• Price: $5,600,000,000cop, approximately $1,343,703 USD
• info@saberpropiedadraiz.com +57 317 225-7355 +57 313 683-2928

Offered by Saber Real Estate, Rionegro, Colombia +57 (4)537-0579 +57 313 683-2928 Click here to email

English US line: +1 (786) 417-1720 English Whatsapp: +57 (323)509-3497

Ask about our easy jumbo mortgages for foreign buyers!

• One level house
• Area Lot 1920 m²
• Area House 605 m²
• Strata 6

This spectacular property has 4 rooms with a dressing room plus service bedroom and utility room.

• Bar
• Deck 72m²
• BBQ
• Jacuzzi
• 1 main kitchen
• 3 covered parking spaces
• and much more!

Offer price: $4,900,000,000 Colombian pesos, approximately $1.1 million USD.

Offered by Saber Real Estate, Rionegro, Colombia +57 (4)537-0579 +57 313 683-2928 Click here to email

English US line: +1 (786) 417-1720 English Whatsapp: +57 (323)509-3497

Ask about our easy jumbo mortgages for foreign buyers!

Every corner has been carefully created to provide you with an unparalleled living experience. The spacious rooms will greet you with a sense of comfort and luxury, while the elegant bathrooms will envelop you in an oasis of relaxation. The kitchen, equipped with high-end appliances and a center island, is the perfect place to unleash your culinary creativity.

But the benefits of this property are not limited to the interior. The extensive landscaped garden, with its exuberant green areas next to its relaxing jacuzzi will allow you to enjoy moments of relaxation and tranquility in an idyllic setting. Don’t miss the opportunity to own this exceptional property. Every detail has been meticulously designed to satisfy the most demanding desires and exceed all expectations.

• One level house
• Lot Area 5,000 m2
• House Area 760 m2
• Estrato 5
• 5 bedrooms with dressing room
• 7 bathrooms
• Bar
• Theater
• Gym
• Jacuzzi and Turkish steam room
• 1 main kitchen
• 3 covered parking spaces
• 20 uncovered parking spaces and much more
• Price: $5.95 billion Colombian pesos. Approximately $1.3 million USD

DON’T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH US TO MARVEL YOURSELF WITH THIS SPECTACULAR PROPERTY.

Offered by Saber Real Estate, Rionegro, Colombia +57 (4)537-0579 +57 313 683-2928 Click here to email

English US line: +1 (786) 417-1720 English Whatsapp: +57 (323)509-3497

Ask about our easy jumbo mortgages for foreign buyers!

The new PriceSmart is being built on Transversal Inferior, a two-lane one-way residential feeder road. (photo: Loren Moss)

PriceSmart is a successful chain of warehouse-club style stores that while headquartered in San Diego, California, operate exclusively in Latin America and the Caribbean, with no stores within the US 50 states or México. Well loved in Colombia, it is no surprise that the company chose to open a second Medellín location, though the Poblado location, a residential area already infamous for traffic congestion is questionable when new high-capacity roadways are being constructed in the nearby, commercialized Las Palmas area, also easily accessible by the high-income bedroom communities of El Retiro, La Fé, and Llanogrande.

The urban curate, or Curaduría, is the local authority in Colombian municipalities responsible for enforcing building regulations and issuing (or not) construction permits.

Exclusive Interview: Pricesmart Assures All Permits In Order For Poblado, 2nd Medellín & 10th Colombia Location Pledges To Be A Good Neighbor (click here)

The curate issued the following decree (translated by Finance Colombia):

THROUGH WHICH A DIRECT REVOCATION PROCESS IS BEGUN

The Second Urban Curate of Medellín, according to Appointment Decree 0381 of the19th of June 2018, in use of its legal powers and especially those conferred by the Laws 388 of 1997, 1801 of 2016, 1437 of 2011, as well as National Decrees 2150 of 1995 and 1077 of 2015

CONSIDERING

1. That through 202330016551 sent on January 20, 2023, by the Undersecretary of Management and Territorial Control of the District of Medellín, informs that in exercising the functions of urban control and taking into account the presentation of various complaints by Councilwoman Claudia Marcela Ramírez Echeverri, an exhaustive review of administrative acts was ordered through which the PRICESMART project was approved in the property located at 32^nd street with South 11th Avenue.
2. That in developing the function of urban control, said dependency requested detailed information on the advance procedure for the issuance of the urban planning license to the project, for which supporting documentation was requested through the filed document 202230497081 of November 17, 2022. This document was in response to the files 202210411050 of December 6 and 202210412631 of December 7.
3. That the Secretary of Management and Territorial Control of the District, upon receiving the information submitted by this office, proceeded to carry out its analysis, in coordination with the approved urban planning licenses and the applicable regulatory framework, which conceptualizes:
   • The licenses were granted without fulfilling the requirements demanded in the applicable urban regulations, contained in Agreement 62 of 1999, Agreement 23 of 2000 and its respective regulatory file and the provisions of the Agreement 38 of 1990
   • The number of floors and parking spaces does not conform to what is allowed in the residential use areas.
     

     Pricesmart Poblado mandatory construction poster (photo: Loren Moss)

   • There is a mixed application of the standards for commercial use that is contrary to the land use regime.
   • The technical concept was never requested from the Administrative Department of Planning, as contemplated by the norm for the application of previously restricted uses, as for department stores.
4. That, based on this analysis, the Urban Curate is requesting the initiation of the process of direct revocation of the administrative acts through which the PRICESMART project, because in its judgement, in the issuance of the administrative procedures did not take into account the urban regulations adopted in the Agreements 38 of 1990, 62 of 1999, Decree 568 of 2011, since it is considered on the part of the district entity that the issuance of the licenses was carried out in opposition to the law and the constitution and violate the public interest that [the curate] seeks to protect with urban regulations.
5. That, based on this request, the order is to proceed with the review of the decision and inform the municipal administration within ten (10) business days following receipt of the request.
6. That, in order to meet the District’s request, [the curate] is initiating the process, taking note that:
   • Article 2.2.6.1.2.3.10 of National Decree 1077 of 2015 authorizes the application of direct revocation to the administrative act that grants the planning license, making express reference to the procedure enshrined in the Code of Administrative Procedure and Administrative Litigation, specifying that:
     1. They are competent to advance the direct revocation of the licenses, the same curator who issued the act or whoever has been designated as such by means of an administrative act of a provisional or definitive manner, or the municipal or district mayor or his delegate.
     2. They may request the direct revocation of the licenses of the same applicants, the adjoining neighbors of the object property, as well as third parties and competent administrative authorities that have become part of the Procedure.
     3. During the direct revocation process, the file will remain available to the parties for consultation and issuance of copies and the interested party must be summoned, as well as third parties who may be affected by the decision, in order for them to participate and assert their rights. For this purpose, from the beginning of the action, they will be informed, by means of an official letter that will be communicated to the persons indicated above, the reasons that support the process. A term of ten (10) business days will be granted for them to respond to interrogatories.
     4. Once the interrogatories have been carried out and within the term established by the Code of Administrative Procedure and Administrative Litigation to resolve the procedure, the decision will be adopted.
     5. The term to resolve requests for direct revocation is two (2) months from the day after the date of submission of the application. If this term expires without resolution of the request, it will be understood that the request for revocation was denied.
     6. The direct revocation of administrative acts will not proceed with respect to which the petitioner has exercised the remedies.
   • Article 3 of Law 1437 of 2011 establishes the principles that must be taken into account in administrative action, and specifies that by virtue of due process ‘administrative actions will be carried out inaccordance with the rules of procedure and competence established in the constitution and the law, with full guarantee of the rights of representation, defense and contradiction.
   • Articles 93 to 97 of Law 1437 of 2011 enshrine the procedure to advance the direct revocation procedure, specifying in article 97 that when it comes to the revocation of a particular and concrete act “it may not be revoked without the prior, express and written consent of the respective owner”
   • For the Council of State “The direct revocation consists of its own tool of the authorities in administrative headquarters and without validation of prior judicial process, which can be initiated ex-officio or at the request of a party, consisting of the modification or substantial change of firm decisions that have been adopted as a unilateral manifestation of the respective public entity and that have created general or particular legal situations, provided that they are matched with one or more causes or events of provenance provided for in article 93 of the CPACA (EC, Contentious Administrative Chamber, No 17001-23-33-000-2017-00100-02(4103-18),2020, Considerations).
   • This high court ratifies that “the prohibition of revoking administrative acts that: “have created or modified a legal situation of particular and concrete character or recognized a right of equal category” except in the prior, express and written consent of the owner of the respective right. The Chamber notes that, with regard to the possibility that the administration had to revoke administrative acts of a particular nature, in the events in which any of the grounds for revocation already mentioned, in the case of positive facts, or if the illegality in its issuance is evident, the same disappears from the new statute of Administrative Procedure and from Administrative Litigation. Indeed, the two final paragraphs of article 97 of Law 1437 of 2011 prescribe that in cases where the administration considers the unconstitutionality or illegality of an administrative act, or that its issuance took place by illegal or fraudulent means, it must appear before this jurisdiction, to file suit, as long as it do not have the prior, express and written consent of the owner of the rights in the respective administrative act”. (EC, Contentious Administrative Chamber, second section, No 76001-23-31-000-2004-03824-02 (0376-07) 2015 Considerations).
   • Article 99 of Law 388 of 1997, modified by article 35 of Law 1796 of 2016, specifies the scope and consequence of the issuance of the urban planning licenses by stating that “The granting of the urban planning license involves the acquisition of development and construction rights in theterms and conditions contained in the respective administrative act, as well such as certification of compliance with urban regulations and earthquake resistance and other regulations on which it is based and entails the specific authorization on the use and development of the land, whether it is in force or when the work has been executed as long as it has complied with all the obligations established therein.”
   • Article 2.2.6.1.2.1.7 of Decree 1077 of 2015, is clear when determining that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory to determine the requirements for the study and processing of urban license applications, through the issuance of a resolution that so consecrates them, “(…) Without prejudice to the documents that guarantee compliance with the rules of the provisions related to the protection of assets of cultural interest, the territorial ordering plan and the regulations that develop, regulate or complement, in compliance with the provisions in numeral 7 of article 99 of Law 388 of 1997, modified by Article 182 of Decree 019 of 2012, urban planning licenses must be filed and resolved exclusively with the requirements set by the mentioned Resolution”

In light of the foregoing,

BE IT RESOLVED

ARTICLE ONE: INITIATE the procedure of direct revocation of the Resolutions through which urban planning permission was granted to the property identified with real estate registration 001-1374003.

ARTICLE TWO: SEND communication to PRICESMART COLOMBIA SAS, commercial company with NIT 9003197533, who acquired the property by public deed 879 of March 16, 2022, granted by the Notary Public 25 of Medellín, requesting the authorization to revoke the planning licenses granted to the identified property in the first article.

ARTICLE THREE: INFORM the Territorial Management and Control Secretariat of the District of Medellín, the beginning of the process of Direct Revocation of the licenses granted to the property identified with real estate registration 001-1374003.

NOTIFY AND COMPLY

Issued in Medellín on the 3^rd day of February of the year 2023

LUIS FERNANDO BETANCUR MERINO
Second Urban Curate of Medellín
Decre 0381 of 2018
1311-12.4-

The new location will be off of the Transversal Inferior road that passes from near the Hotel Intercontinental on Las Palmas Avenue to just below the upscale El Tesoro shopping mall, and Calle 12 Sur, near the St. Michel complex. This is in Medellín’s highest income área, and also convenient to purchasers in the wealthy eastern suburbs such as El Retiro, Llanogrande, and Loma Del Escobero.

“We have long sought a suitable site in this very densely populated and growing area of El Poblado, Medellín. We believe the demographic profile around this location closely aligns with the value proposition we are known for. We look forward to serving both new and existing Members,” said Sherry S. Bahrambeygui, Pricesmart’s Chief Executive Officer.

Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Announcement Details:

PriceSmart plans to release second quarter fiscal year 2022 financial results on Thursday, April 7, 2022, after the market closes. PriceSmart management will host a conference call at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time (9:00 a.m. Pacific time) on Friday, April 8, 2022, to discuss the financial results. Individuals interested in participating in the conference call may do so by dialing (855) 209-8211 toll free or (412) 317-5214 for international callers and asking to join the PriceSmart, Inc. call. A digital replay will be available through April 15, 2022, following the conclusion of the call by dialing (877) 344-7529 for domestic callers, or (412) 317-0088 for international callers, and entering replay passcode 5341114.

To dive deeper into Skyports’ strategy and plans for Colombia, Finance Colombia Executive Editor Loren Moss had a conversation with Daniel Salamanca, Skyports Colombia’s general manager.

Finance Colombia: Help us to understand a little bit about Skyports as a company. Why did you choose Colombia, and what can we expect to see here in Colombia?

Daniel Salamanca: So I can tell you a little bit about my background, I am an aeronautical engineer. I have worked for approximately seven years where I have developed different types of processes, especially in the industrial area here in the country and one of the first projects I participated in was with the government where through smaller drones, we used drones for laboratory sample transportation. That was the first test concept that we tried here in the country.

Latin America is a very dynamic place for these types of tests. Possibly people relate [to drones] more as a hobby or for audio-visual production than as a professional thing, but the impact that drones are having in the Industrial sector are changing industries. It’s a game-changing factor in the technology sector, it is very important.

“It’s not a transatlantic thing, but this will be able to transport a person from Rionegro to Medellin in 2 minutes.”

Skyports is basically dedicated to two business lines, a short-term line and a long-term line. The short-term line is dedicated to cargo delivery with low to medium capacity drones, which means that we develop through a customer supply chain structure where we move something from point A to point B, that’s what we do.

On the long-term, and understanding a little bit about the aviation story, the first operators were cargo and later passengers, so [we envision] the same thing happening with the revolution of drones. The midterm bet is to achieve the ability to develop vertiports, which are ports that are the necessary infrastructure to land air taxis, drones that can take passengers between cities, between coasts, so it’s a thing that it’s more dedicated towards aviation.

It’s not a transatlantic thing, but this will be able to transport a person from Rionegro to Medellin in 2 minutes, so let’s say that’s the bet. Currently we have operations in different parts of the world. We have operations in APAC, in Singapore, in Scotland we have a successful case in the health sector. And currently the company selected Latin America for a reason and especially Colombia, and that is because we have identified that there are possibilities, there are opportunities for connecting these people that live in rural areas.

So that’s the mission that we have at this moment, and with this type of technology we want to democratize the access to supplies, logistics, goods and even with a more humanitarian focus, and that’s why we chose Colombia, besides the fact that this country, having its characteristics. It’s a country that provides a certain amount of technology, a dynamic environment, especially Medellin, which works as a hub in this topic. So due to the opportunity and conditions that we found here, with the difficult times that people spend trying to gain access to products, food; the geographical conditions, political conditions, thanks to all of that we see opportunities where we can focus and expand the service throughout Latin America in general.

Finance Colombia: You mentioned several things, one thing is that obviously yes, there are challenges that we have here in Colombia as well as there are many areas where the access is only via ships and boats: speaking of Chocó, speaking of Nariño, there are areas like Norte de Santander and Catatumbo where the security situation is dangerous and there are drone use cases for surveillance of oil pipelines for example, but you also mention other things that are surprising to me, when you speak about drones as a way of transportation for people.

I imagine that is not approved in any country for commercial use, it must be in a test stage, isn’t that very futuristic? Something that can be conceived in a more of a long-term way like something we are not going to see in 2022 or 2023, since it’s still in the experimental stage. The process to test a new airplane which would be like FAA, European Union or Aerocivil, is a process that takes years and years so when you’re talking about going from the Airbus 320 to the Airbus 340, there’s a process of 5 to 10 years, so isn’t the idea of passenger drones more like a dream?

I can understand medicine transportation, for example, I know Skyports has a mail delivery project in England, but is transporting people like a dream or is more like a project where you can say “yes, in three years we’re going to move people” or will it still be just products like medicines and food?

Daniel Salamanca: You just said something very important Loren, it’s a bet towards the future. In this midterm line, which I just mentioned to you, what you’re saying is very clear, we only transport small cargo through smaller drones that can take up to 5, 6, 7 or 8 kilograms.

That’s what’s happening currently. Now, despite that we are aware that in the world there are a few companies, Airbus, even new companies, startups, that are developing the concept of air mobility. Countries like Singapore & Dubai are exploring the opportunity of having vertical ports, which is infrastructure oriented to this type of technology. Also companies in Europe and the United States are making the first tests of this [passenger transporting] equipment.

What we know is that this at some point transition will come, and what we’re doing is to prepare the land, the infrastructure, and the logistics to be able to at some point have the capacity of let’s say, providing the service in this kind of air mobility infrastructure. Obviously we can say it’s a dream but it’s a dream that it’s becoming tangible. Every day there are more players in the field, every day doing tests of these types of drones to transport people, and they are developing the infrastructure, the heliports where the drones will be parked. Yes, the concept definitely sounds very futuristic compared to what we have right now, but there are already many companies in the world and even regulatory bodies and institutions working to create regulations so that these can go from a dream to a reality. So far we’re just focused on what we can do which are deliveries with drones, taking a load from point A to point B.

Finance Colombia: Speaking of the commercial aspect of it, the good thing about a drone is that they are fast, and they don’t have to go through streets and road traffic. Two cities can be relatively close but there’s a mountain separating them, so travel is slow. Before from Santa Fe de Antioquia to Medellin it was like six hours because there was no tunnel, and we had to go up the mountain and then go back down.

The drones have limited capacity, and I imagine that due to the operational cost I can’t say: “I want to supply everything to a town.” So due to the delivery cost, the focus has to be on high value products, right? What is the model so that it can be profitable for the company? Obviously by the capacity of the drones, commercial limits and also the fact that when we’re speaking of drones, we’re not talking about suburban areas like Chia, or Cajicá or Llanogrande, but remote areas that have no resources. Can you provide these services in a way that is not so expensive for the end user? I’d like to understand the model, taking into account all these types of limitations.

Daniel Salamanca: Perfect, I can give you an example of what we’re doing in Scotland currently. We’re delivering vital medical supplies. With the concept of the drone, it has to be something of high value, that needs to be transported in a short amount of time. And when I say value, I don’t mean money, but for the person that is receiving it, it is something very necessary, valuable. So: high value, short time delivery, and something that needs to be transported quickly.

What we’re doing in Scotland, with this partnership with the NHS, which is an equivalent of the Health Ministry in Colombia, we developed a process for vital supplies for populations on islands receiving government assistance, similar to populations here in Colombia. The paying customer would be the medical institutions, government agencies and nonprofits or humanitarian entities.

Now in the case of low-income areas as you mention, a village in La Guajira, or a community in Chocó, it’s hard for them to afford this service. Despite that, the strategy is to be able to develop alliances with the government. In Africa there is a success case where this technology was applied. Humanitarian aid is part of the strategies we are trying to develop.

Finance Colombia: Something I’ve noticed is that you have the support of Irelandia Aviation. As we know, this is a private equity developer of airlines which has been super successful and has also worked in the US. They are from the same brains behind RyanAir in Europe. Here in Colombia, Irelandia is the engine behind Viva and its success. Tell the importance of having that backup regarding capital, knowledge and experience in the aviation sector? What does it mean for Skyports?

Daniel Salamanca: Irelandia understands the importance of investing in the future of mobility, including drones and urban air taxis, which is something that is happening right now. What we did was to create an alliance, a joint venture, to cover this part of the world. Irelandia provides its whole background regarding the aviation sector in the region, in Colombia, as well as it has done it with Mexico and Peru, and having operations throughout the region. It has this commercial background and also in the operational aspect. This alliance is very exciting and important, so that we can land with a partner that has a lot of experience in aviation development. The concept of drones for Irelandia is clear and its strategy is to bet on them for the future.

Finance Colombia: When will you operating? When will you be flying drones in Colombia? And when will you be operating serving commercial clients?

Daniel Salamanca: The pre-operational phase where we have to obtain the permissions and technical things, pilots, putting all of this together will take place through July of 2022 when we expect to begin the first operations. What we’re doing now is finishing deals with our partners or potential customers to develop proof-of-concept tests for the first or second quarter of next year. This will also depend on (Colombia’s civil aviation regulatory authority) Aerocivil, in order to have  commercial operating permission for the next year. That’s part of the roll out that we’re doing in Colombia, but we will also integrate countries like Panama or Mexico to start operations under the same plan. First we develop tests, then apply for permission with the regulatory entities, giving proof of safety and reliability, and then we jump to the commercial phase, to start billing clients.

Finance Colombia: Besides the government, with a use case like the health ministry distributing COVID vaccines, what’s the profile of your ideal client?

Daniel Salamanca: Regarding health, there is a long logistics chain: there’s the government, there are the suppliers, transportation, pharmacies, and laboratory entities…so the drone gets to be part of a chain that is already working with all the actors of the health sector, suppliers, pharmacies, health entities, government, clinics, and even foundations that also work in the health sector. Also the Red Cross and humanitarian organizations that are involved in the health process could become that ideal client we’re looking for. So, in the health sector, that’s what we’re emulating, since that’s what we’ve done in Asia Pacific and Europe.

Finance Colombia: We want to let our audience know every step and every achievement you make, so let’s stay in touch with Skyports and its growth.

Daniel Salamanca: Thank you very much. I’m here for any inquiry or comment you might have. And we will keep developing this technology here in Colombia to help the communities and the people.

Finance Colombia’s executive editor Loren Moss was able to connect with Trejo to discuss Antioquia’s growth and resiliency during the pandemic, also exploring the role of Colombia’s departmental government (Colombia has departments instead of states or provinces) in investment promotion along with the municipal agencies like ACI Medellín, and the national agencies like ProColombia.

Finance Colombia: I want to ask you about the current status of Antioquia, how are we doing after a year of pandemic? Antioquia has a very diverse economy, obviously there is a lot of activity in the agricultural and industrial area, but it’s also a department that has tourism and events, large events. So my question is, how do you see the entire economic state of Antioquia and in which sectors has it affected the economy the most? But before that I ask you to explain your role and what your responsibilities are in the government, so that people understand what Daniela Trejo is doing in Antioquia.

Daniela Trejo Rojas: First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Daniela Trejo, the new secretary of economic development, innovation and new economies of the department of Antioquia. Previously I had been working as director of internationalization and this brings me new challenges, thinking first of all about employment. Employment is like the pain and the cut off of everything that this secretary does, and it’s to take care of and protect the business fabric, I will tell you a little by way of context, Antioquia is the second largest population conglomerate and economy of Colombia.

Here we speak very well of businesspeople and others. Whenever we talk about Antioquia one thinks of Medellín and then in Valle de Aburrá (Aburrá Valley, where Medellín is situated). In Valle de Aburrá there are 10 municipalities that make it up, but in the department, there are 125 municipalities. We are the department of Antioquia and of those 125 in Medellín and in the Aburra Valley, in these 10 municipalities we have very important companies such as Familia, Grupo Argos, Grupo Éxito, Grupo BIOS, Bancolombia, Suramericana, which are the large holding companies of Colombia, which are in the stock market and that for us they are all a source of pride because they represent that business fabric and that productive specialization of the department.

Antioquia is home to several of Latin America’s most important multinational enterprises.

It’s convenient to tell you that COVID hit us very hard. Last year we closed with a loss of approximately 130,000 jobs. The main economy of Antioquia is in the services sector, in the commerce sector, of course they were very affected sectors and that was largely due to those strict closures that we had in the first three months of the pandemic, where we doubled the unemployment we had, in December of last year we had a recovery of 150,000 jobs and we closed the year with a loss of 130,000. This year we have that goal, and it’s to recover 100,000 jobs, but that is not a goal for the department of Antioquia alone, it’s a goal that we have with other sectors such as construction, services and manufacturing, and merchants. We know that we have to come together to move the department forward.

Regarding the context for those who haven’t traveled and for those who don’t know either Colombia or Antioquia, we are divided into 9 subregions. In those 9 subregions we have the Aburra Valley, and here we have a whole ecosystem of innovation, for us this is a source of pride. We have Ruta-N and we have many entrepreneurs and enterprises that are publishing everything; creative industries and business ventures, technology and added value, but we have other subregions, all very different with a diversity of climates, with a diversity of soils, and that has allowed us to specialize. If we go north, we find ourselves in Urabá where we have access to the sea. In Urabá we have an important logistical location for the tertiary economy and from there 40% of the bananas and plantains that the country exports go out.

But if we go down a little bit, we get to the southwest where the specialties are coffees and citrus fruits. Today we are finding very specialized markets in Europe & Asia for our coffees, not only exporting them as commodity coffees, green coffee but already specialized coffees. We have a region in the North where dairy and textiles are also very significant. We have of course historical knowledge in mining, especially the Mid-Magdalena region and there we already have foreign companies that are in the exploration stage.

We have eastern Antioquia where our José María Córdova international airport is located, there we also find very diverse soil and we are promoting all the exploration in medicinal Cannabis, but also the Hass avocado, passionflower, mango, vegetables. This is how our territory is made up, we also have a sub-region that I forgot, the Occident of Antioquia. From the Occident of Antioquia, we have very agricultural locations and we also have a mining presence so we think of it as an important logistics corridor for the development that we are going to have in Urabá.

That is a context for you to understand that Antioquia has a multiplicity of soils and territories, however, what contributes the most to the Antioquia team is trade, manufacturing and construction, those are the factors that contribute the most and that were most affected in the pandemic.

Finance Colombia: Well speaking of the Occident of Antioquia, they are building the 4G highway projects and they are also building the Antioquia port. When do you plan to finish all this? If I understand correctly, you are going to start making a 4 lane highway from Las Palmas to El Tablazo, near the José Maria Cordova international airport (serving Medellín), a project that will be carried out for 36 months under construction by the firm Conconcreto. I remember 6 years ago when Rionegro was a rural town, and Rionegro is a suburb now, as Envigado was before. It’s how Las Palmas was 10 years ago, it’s already Rionegro, they are expanding the roads into double lanes each way, and I imagine that La Ceja and El Carmen de Viboral will be the next. But speaking of that, with so much growth, when do you think the 4G projects and the port of Antioquia will be finished? How is that going? And what changes do you hope these development projects will bring to the regional economy?

Daniela Trejo Rojas: We have a series of infrastructure projects, some more representative than others, of course betting on the regions where we see that there is significant potential. The Department of Antioquia is very focused on Urabá trying to strengthen the port that we already have there. These are projects that are medium-term, but committing to a special date is difficult because each of the projects has a trajectory and has a dynamic, but we hope in three years to be able to have the roads and also the port developments in Urabá, that will allow us to have competitive advantages between Antioquia and other departments, we will be much closer as a port than other departments that have a large flow of merchandise and that today they are leaving through Barranquilla, they are leaving through Cartagena and that they will be able to pass through Antioquia and have to close all the commercialization there.

With Viva Air announcing Medellin as its new international hub, Antioquia can expect nonstop connectivity throughout North America, South America, and Europe.

So for us that also implies changing the locations of the soil a bit, going from having almost concentrated the spirit of Urabá in the production and commercialization of plantain, banana, pineapple and passion fruit, also moving to products transformed with high added value that also induce us to compete with other markets, but you know that port developments also bring social and cultural impact.

You were asking me about the Orient of Antioquia around Llanogrande: the San Nicolás Valley implies a challenge and immense potential for us. Today we can say that they are two valleys that are connected, it’s even very difficult to determine when Envigado ends and when I am in La Ceja, or when Envigado ends and I am already in Rionegro through the same infrastructure. Before it was very easy because you could notice the change in the roads and lighting, and today you go from Rionegro to La Ceja and find more dynamic restaurants, hotels and others, so we can say that they are two valleys that are completely established, and that has also allowed us to have developments such as  the Orient of Antioquia Tunnel that connects us easily between the two valleys, and allows us to have more interaction and that is finally competitiveness for the department, that I can land in Rionegro and in 15 minutes I can be in Medellín, that increases the competitiveness that we have as a territory. After this year of pandemic, we saw that people are leaving Medellín to live in  the Orient of Antioquia, people are located in Llanogrande, in La Ceja, in El Carmen, in El Retiro and there is a real estate pressure that for the mayors has been a bit complex to handle. People are already migrating to  the Orient of Antioquia, to the entire San Nicolás Valley and this also brings to mind some adversities in infrastructure and waste collection, and all the solid waste management is very important.

Also in the same ecosystem, we forget that there are territories that don’t have very good networks of public services, that don’t have good drinking water networks, we still find many of those municipalities that their villages have aqueducts that have been built by the communities themselves and that they themselves administer. Today that means that we are arriving there with demands that the territory is not very prepared to handle. It’s important not only with roads, in  the Orient of Antioquia we from the department have an important position especially in Rionegro, we also have the decentralization of innovation centers where we are talking with the Orient of Antioquia’s chamber of commerce, where we are talking with businessmen from  the Orient of Antioquia and we have a special project that is  the Orient of Antioquia’s airport city, thinking towards the future and taking advantage of the free zone that we already have there.

In the future we are going to start building the second most important complex in Colombia, today El Dorado (Bogotá’s international airport) is not enough, it’s the Bogotá airport, today it doesn’t provide for the maintenance, spare parts and others of its aircraft, and we are understanding that the transport and logistics sector is leaving to migrate to eastern Antioquia, that implies that we have to help young people think about the areas in which they want to work, what kind of professions and trades we need to promote in  the Orient of Antioquia because if the demand reaches us and we don’t have someone to fill it, it would be a problem, but that cannot be solved overnight, that has to be with enough time, so that is why we are preparing. But if we envision where the urban growth is and the economic development of the department, surely the answer is: towards  the Orient of Antioquia and towards Urabá.

Finance Colombia: Yes, I was at an event with the mayor of Medellín and the president of Viva Air and they announced that they are going to name Rionegro as the hub and their vision is that they have about 20 planes already in the factory being built, and it’s funny because like when they already have 20 planes on order, and they say their long-term vision is to connect—basically they are doing what COPA (Copa Airlines) did with Tocumen in Panama, that’s what they want to do with Medellín, and connect, in the words of the president of Viva Air, from Buenos Aires to New York all with connectivity in Medellín. I imagine that they are going to have to build or expand the airport again, they just finished renovating the José María Córdova airport, but I imagine they will have to expand it more, I also hear about making a second runway. I don’t see where; I imagine they know how to do that.

What can you tell me? Because I have also heard rumors of making more airports, for example in the Occident of Antioquia, since Santa Fe de Antioquia is a very touristy area, at least they are expanding the highway, but beyond Santa Fe and San Jerónimo, there is also a lot of activity in Buriticá, with 4G highways that are already under construction, are there current plans? I understand that you are not Secretary of Transportation but if there is something you can tell me about plans to expand the roads?

Daniela Trejo Rojas: Answering you very precisely if we are now promoting developments other than our José María Córdova international airport? No, we have to go step by step, the Orient of Antioquia still has a lot of capacity, since we don’t have overcrowding. The demand that the airport has, we have where to grow, and we are also betting that free zones are a tool for economic development. They can bring foreign direct investment, we don’t see that we still have to bet on airport issues in another region other than the Orient of Antioquia so that it becomes very strong, but speaking of competitiveness, we have all the rehabilitation of the railway system, which is a nice project that is led by the department through the Antioquia railway.

Where many of the sections of the Antioquia railway will be rehabilitated, which was liquidated in 1956 and some sections were left without use, absolutely without use. Today we see all the potential for them to be rehabilitated, many of these sections are in feasibility, others are in pre-feasibility, and in particular there is one that I want to tell you about, which is the one that goes from Barbosa to Puerto Berrio, all of the Rio Magdalena to Medellín.

Antioquia intends to rebuild its railway network.

In that section, today there is a national government plan to rehabilitate the navigability of the Magdalena River, this river is one of the arteries of the country, it crosses all the states, including Antioquia, and in Puerto Berrio there are plans to have a multimodal port that we allow the loading and unloading of maritime merchandise and connect it with the railway section between Barbosa & Puerto Berrio, especially we have the garbage ecosystem, almost all the waste and garbage collection of the Aburra Valley goes to this side of the department of Antioquia, and in the garbage we see a potential for a circular economy and green business.

We think this section of the railway in one day can transport people and in others, for example at night, it can transport garbage, but it’s not only transportation but also to achieve that garbage to complete a cycle, that we call green business and circular economy, and that we can see value in the management of that garbage. It’s a project that today is ahead of schedule in its completion, since last year the feasibility of the project was verified and it’s a work that we hope has already been very viable in that administration. We also have other sections that are being rehabilitated, among that we have the section of the “Tren del Rio,” it’s expected that we will have the railway crossing the Aburra Valley, that project is also in pre-feasibility, and there is a section that goes to Urabá, inclusive. This is the section that is more in its infancy, but it’s expected that we will achieve rail connectivity throughout the entire department. Previously we had it, 60 years ago we had it and today we see the potential of having a multimodal plate, also of lowering the load a little off our roads so that they are more efficient, and that we can also take advantage of the Magdalena River and be able to have loading and unloading of multimodal merchandise in this important area in Puerto del Rio.

I don’t know if you knew that in the 1920s all merchandise taken out from Antioquia was by mule, they had 1 or 2 days of travel crossing mountains to go down to the middle Magdalena (river) and arrive especially at Cisneros, in Cisneros the order was made and the Magdalena was crossed until reaching Puerto Berrio, and in Puerto Berrio the merchandise left to Barranquilla. In Barranquilla there were all the ships with international destinations, including those that were leaving Antioquia and if they wanted to go to Europe they had to go to New York and from New York on to Europe.

That is to say that ancestrally there were already some roads, this is very beautiful, in its time Puerto del Rio was a point of arrival for artists, for tourism it’s spectacular. You started the conversation with tourism and I have not mentioned much about that, and we have some municipalities with a history, still with that railway and with those spectacular railway stations, preserved, with still very light infrastructures that have allowed nature to be preserved. Today ecotourism is important in Antioquia, bird watching and being able to enjoy nature today is one of the great bets we have in the department This is especially speaking of infrastructure other than road and airport infrastructure.

Finance Colombia: Yes, that is something I remember my first time in Colombia almost 20 years ago, that was something very curious for me, that there are no trains. One thing that impacts me, still the case but much better now, is that Colombia has always been very regional, as you mentioned there was no transportation to go to Bogotá or Medellín before modern times. I talked to the president of Tecnoglass and he commented on how expensive it is to transport materials within Colombia, due to lack of infrastructure. They are in Barranquilla because that is where the port is, they export a lot of merchandise. Colombia now is changing a lot, before it was not a great force in exporting, perhaps a little coffee, and before,  textiles, so that seems great to me, mainly because of the industry that can grow by having railways but also for example in the tourism sector.

In Bogotá I took the tourist train to go from Bogotá to Cajicá and Zipaquirá, in this case it would be longer distances. I imagine it is like taking a train from here to Puerto Berrio, but you are there near Hacienda Napoles and so many things of nature that can be seen, right? I find it very interesting that the railway system can be used not only to transport people and make more connectivity not only with the Magdalena River, but there can also be access to Bogotá and that tourist part of western Antioquia, far west near the Magdalena River, and also connecting with Santander and towards Bucaramanga and those areas because they also connect with the Magdalena River.

Speaking of which, because you mentioned Urabá, are there tax incentives? I know that here we have the free zone, here nearby if I understand correctly there are three free zones in Antioquia, but what incentives are there? Because in Urabá we are already going to have the port, but that area has been an area to some extent forgotten, that is to say, much development is lacking, there is still opportunity and we cannot complain about what happened in history, but currently there is a lot of development that is missing. Are there incentives to encourage or promote investment and development in the north of Antioquia? Speaking more specifically after the mountains, speaking of the coastal plain there in Urabá.

Daniela Trejo Rojas: Well I’ll tell you, we have a particularity as a department and that is that after the signing of the peace process, the national government came up with a strategy called ZOMAC and PDET regions that consists of those municipalities and the most affected areas by the armed conflict and where for more than 10 years we have been investing in changing the productive vocation of the soil, trying to replace illicit crops. Especially in Antioquia we have done it with coffee and cocoa, but also with other projects, fish farming and beekeeping projects.

We in Antioquia have a corridor where we have four subregions where we can find 55 ZOMAC, areas that were declared the most affected by the armed conflict, and 24 PDET municipalities, that in other words is a strategy where the government says what we can do with these territories, How can I change the productive vocation to encourage the establishment of local and foreign companies so that we can generate the different dynamics of the economy, promote development in another way, and this is often not so easy. It is not easy to simply make a refund, but who am I selling to? How do I trade? How do I inject technology and innovation into it? Sometimes very complex and important investments are required. We have those municipalities in Antioquia, we have four sub-regions, among them is Urabá that we have mentioned so much, we also have municipalities in the north, in the northeast and in Bajo Cauca, almost all the municipalities or areas that are there as most affected are in those four subregions that if you see them on the map, it is as if they formed a corridor that weaves through Urabá.

There the national government through its agency for the renewal of the territory implements the PDET strategy along with tax incentives, that is: “how do I make a businessman decide to invest in Mutatá, in Caucasia, in Vegachí, in El Bagre,” and not in the Orient of Antioquia where the port, where the free zones are located? So special tax incentives are created both in income tax and in industry and commerce. We also have slightly lighter incentives where entrepreneurs get a very important discount. I am going to tell you about some municipalities:  Caucasia, Tarazá, Puerto Nare, Puerto Berrio, Támesis, Vegachí, Santa Fe de Antioquia are municipalities that have very good tax incentives, they are ZOMAC, and they are a little more distributed throughout the territory. The PDETs are concentrated in this corridor that runs from the northeast, Bajo Cauca and that ends in Urabá. There we have proper incentives in industry with trade discounts, notices and boards, and we have three permanent free zones, we have one in Apartado, Urabá, we have one in  the Orient of Antioquia in Rionegro, and we have one in Caldas, in the Aburra Valley (north of Medellín) These are the strips, for us they are the poles of development and commercial exchange where businesspeople have some discounts, where they have tax extensions to bring inputs and to export. Those free zones still have a lot of potential. We see that entrepreneurs are a bit fearful, but it has become a hub for the development of suppliers where within the free zone where, for example, as a businessperson I occupy the textile space, I can find someone who brings me the fabrics, who brings me the threads, all the spare parts for the machines and that way I can export and import more easily and obviously benefit from important incentives.

Today we are looking to have more expansion of these zones, so they don’t remain only in the special areas. We also seek to have special free zones…today for example in Guarné they already have their free zone, companies are already seeking to participate, and the legislation is new, “fresh from the oven.” We spent more than six months reviewing it, sending comments to the ministry, and they shared it just 15 days ago. It’s just published, it is a strategy of the national government to be able to attract investments directly so that they can install themselves in those territories and see that for many years they will have significant discounts in sales, commerce, notices and boards, among others.

Now that you mentioned the textile sector, we in Antioquia historically have an important vocation in the textile area. In the 60s we had the largest companies in the Aburra Valley installed in Itagüí and in Medellín, today we see that it is a sector that continues to grow, and which has been growing by 2.4% a year. Today it represents around 18,000 companies and 117,000 jobs generated. This is according to the chamber of commerce (so the statistics are) formal, the legalized business. Outside of this. the number must be doubled (due to the informal economy) but the numbers that I give you are those that we have in the chamber of commerce.

The textile sector continues to have gigantic potential, and we have been promoting it. From the department of Antioquia, we have been betting on it because we know that there is ancestral knowledge that has passed from generation to generation and that moves local economies and especially economies of gender. When we go to the municipalities, we find that those clothing and fashion companies are led by women and this helps us to boost local economies. It’s another sector that I did not make much mention of, but I would not want to let it pass because it is a sector that we have been betting on and that we see that there are export opportunities especially to the United States. That even with the pandemic, a business line was developed of supplies and personal protective equipment. Last year we had four companies within the department that did export, especially masks to the United States, and this is important because it shows the resilience of entrepreneurs to take advantage of the difficulty of a pandemic and turn it into an opportunity to transfer it to their own business production line. So Loren, this is a summary of what we have been doing, of these productive bets, of those large infrastructure projects; not only roads but also railways, ports in Urabá and the job we have in the Orient of Antioquia, Airport city. If you are living in the Orient of Antioquia, you are going to see the transformation that it will have in 5 years. It will be an impressive thing because we know that it is the “second story” of Medellín and the Aburrá Valley. We want to thank you for the space, for opening the space in your agenda that we had postponed many times, thank you for that and that it is not the first and the last time.

Finance Colombia: Yes, of course, one last question and I also want to give you space if there is a subject or a topic that I forgot to ask you, I also want to give you the opportunity to mention if there is any news from the government but my last question is how does the government of Antioquia work and collaborate with other actors in the development of the economy?

Daniela Trejo Rojas: Last year was a very interesting year for us from the department’s perspective because our development plan set goals for this secretariat which were very different from the ones they had been working on before. We have a direction that is the focus on internationalization that it had been focusing its efforts on international cooperation. The United 2020-2023 development plan presents us with three other challenges: The promotion of exports, the attraction of direct foreign investment and the promotion of the territory, which are topics of the focus for what ACI Medellín has been doing and also what the national government does for ProColombia.

Antioquia has one of Colombia’s most diverse economies.

This forces us to open our gaze towards the department and understand that when we talk about internationalization it is not only international cooperation but also that export issues are fundamental, to enable, for example, competitive infrastructures. They are fundamental for the internationalization of companies, but also to promote the territory. Who more than we who know the municipalities, who speak with the mayors, can promote the territory and attract investors to settle here? Since last year we began to work hand in hand with ACI and with other organizations, including ProColombia of the national government, the ACI has two foci: the attraction of foreign investment and also international cooperation. They do not work in the export line, although I think they are going to start doing it because we are already seeing that need. They are very focused on Medellín and Valle de Aburra, but the alliance we made last year for the internationalization of the territory put a challenge on us that is to always work with the gaze of both a city and region.

I, as an Antioquian, I tell them: I enjoy all the effort they have made in Medellín to position the city, but it is not a lie that the companies that are in Antioquia today have their production outside the Valley of Aburra. They cooperate, but outside of the Aburra Valley, so there is a connection that is impossible to separate and makes our relationship necessary, since to us as a team and as the manager put us a challenge and that is that we have to do it together, territorial promotion: see what the productive stakes are, that Medellín is not walking on the one hand and I on the other, but that it is a regional & city setting.

Since last year we signed an agreement outside the internationalization alliance, we have been doing it, the work is extremelyhand-in-hand and not only with the city-region but also with the national government through ProColombia because there are many promotion issues where they are the experts, where they have regional alliances in other countries then we know that it is a matter of working together. For you to understand a little, Antioquia has four purposes from our secretary: international operation, attracting investment, promoting the territory and promoting exports. The ACI complements a lot in that purpose and ProColombia helps us with the issue of exports and territorial promotion, that is the job. We even have a table that is the internationalization table where we are with other entities such as ProAntioquia, the chamber of commerce in Medellín for Antioquia, talking about the issues and having a common discourse and narrative that is very important.

Finance Colombia: I think this will be the first meeting between us and to see how we can support you in your missions, Daniela Trejo, thank you very much for your time.

Daniela Trejo Rojas: Many thanks Loren, see you soon.

Images courtesy ACI Medellín

Juan Manuel Barrientos, chef & founder of El Cielo Hospitality Group. Photo: Diego Santacruz

The fine dining enterprise launched by Juan Manuel Barrientos in Colombia has continued to expand despite the pandemic. Anchored by the experiential El Cielo restaurants in Medellín, Bogotá & Miami, El Cielo Hospitality group has stayed busy through temporary shut downs by creating the 28-suite El Cielo Hotel located in Medellin’s Astorga neighborhood near the Poblado Park.

By itself, that would be a feat for any entrepreneur, but almost simultaneously, Barrientos and his team have opened a Washington DC location for his molecular gastronomy focused El Cielo Restaurants, adding to his Miami, Medellín and Bogotá locations. El Cielo has been voted as one of the 50 best restaurants in Latin America.

El Cielo Hotel

El Cielo Hotel in Medellín

El Cielo Hotel is a $15 million USD project that started in January 2019. The 28-room boutique style all-suite hotel is, as are the restaurants, focused on gastronomic and sensory experience. The hotel lobby is actually on the top, fifth floor of the hotel, and the ground floor serves as the new location for El Cielo Medellin.

The basement houses the Navegante Bar, designed to have a clandestine, exclusive feel inspired by the prohibition-era North American speakeasy. The second, third and fourth floors each have eight suites, and another four share the fifth floor with the lobby and welcome lounge.

Rooms are finished in wood and marble, with Egyptian linens, automated illuminations, and 65-inch smart televisions. “El Cielo Hotel is the project with the best luxury experiences in Colombia and one of the best in Latin America. People will live memorable experiences in every moment. Personally, it’s realizing a dream that I have been working on for several years and that I hope continues showing the best of my country,” said chef and CEO Juan Manuel Barrientos.

The hotel’s roof houses a swimming pool and the hotel’s third bar. The pool area has a wellness area for guests, and a fitness space for exercise. The entire building is decorated with vertical gardens featuring native Colombian plants: living walls of flora.

A room in El Cielo Hotel

El Cielo Washington

68-seat El Cielo Washington has opened at Union Market’s La Cosecha, 1280 4^th St. N.E. featuring an a la carte menu fusing traditional Colombian ingredients with Barrientos’ molecular gastronomy innovations. The restaurant features dishes like Yucca Gnocchis, served with sweet plantain honey and pecorino cheese foam; Tuna Watermelon Tataki, a cured tuna tiradito served with cherry tomatoes and achiote; Branzino en Costra de Sal, an entire branzino cooked in a salt crust and served with coconut rice, tamarind, and green plantains.  A la carte dishes are priced between $9 and $68 in the main seating area.

El Cielo Washington DC Main Dining Room

“But wait, there’s more:” Nestled behind the main dining room is an intimate 18-seat fine dining room that offers two progressive menu formats, Journey Menu (15 courses) and The Experience Menu (22 courses) that are inspired in ancestral Colombian cuisine using creative Avant Garde techniques.  The sequence of dishes not only follows a unique journey through Barrientos’s love for his home country but is meant to thrill all five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.  For instance, both menus involve immersive moments like the iconic choco-therapy – a ritual where guests wash their hands with liquid chocolate and then get to taste it straight from their fingers, are magically orchestrated at the hands of the talented team.  These menus are priced at $135 and $195 per person.

“El Cielo is an incubator of creativity where my team and I are constantly studying, discovering and executing new ways to tell the story of our country, Colombia,” said Barrientos.  “We are thrilled to be able to open our doors in the nation’s capital and be able to showcase our love for Colombian food using local products and contribute to the excitement of D.C.’s top dining scene.”

In addition to El Cielo’s Medellín, Bogotá, Miami & DC locations, the group also owns Medellín restaurant concepts such as La Serenissima Italian-themed, Cuon Asian-fusion and its 2^nd floor Shibari bar, Papaya Guacamaya in Llanogrande, Cerdologia—a shrine to pork, wellness themed KAI, and Mexican Aguafresca where tacos and mezcal star.

The restaurant is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday beginning at 4:00PM.  Lunch is available Saturdays and Sundays beginning at 12:00PM. Reservations can be made through the Tock reservation system.  For parties of six or more, the restaurant asks that diners contact them directly at dc@elcielogroup.com.

“There is something unique and attractive about activating all your senses at once, particularly while enjoying a meal.  Our goal is not only to create artistic dishes, but to engage with our guests and create truly memorable culinary experiences,” said Barrientos.

To commemorate Washington DC’s traditional Cherry Blossom Festival, Barrientos and his team have launched the “Cherry Picks Menu” a 3-course menu featuring casual dishes like Colombian empanadas, made with sweet plantain, cheese, potatoes, and spicy peanuts; Lechona, the traditional Colombian suckling pig with elcielo’s twist; Mushroom Ceviche, seasonal mushrooms marinated in lulo sauce, a Colombian fruit; Pollo Criollo – Barriento’s interpretation of the dish made with organic chicken and cooked with hogao (Colombia classic sauce) and fresh herbs.  For the sweet finale, guests can indulge in a traditional street favorite, an Oblea, a round full of Arequipe (dulce de leche) a traditional Colombian caramel; or the Cherry Blossom Dessert a sweet pastry made with sour soup, white chocolate, and a Cherry tartar sweet acid sauce inside.  The menu is priced at $55 per person.  A special seasonal Old-Fashioned cocktail smoked with cherry wood will also be available and priced at $19.  This special menu will run from March 20^th to April 11^th.

Barriento’s design vision of his DC restaurant was executed by Potomac Construction and DesignCase. The firms combined their passion and talent for architecture and impact design to ensure that El Cielo’s style was consistent with sister restaurants in Medellin, Bogota, and Miami.

From a restaurant to an experiential enterprise

Hailing from a family of coffee growers, Juan Manuel Barrientos is the youngest chef to be recognized among the 50 best chefs in Latin America by San Pellegrino’s World’s 50 Best three consecutive years (2013, 2014, 2015).  He honed his craft while working in some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the globe including working with Chef Juan Mari Arzak in Spain and with Chef Iwao Komiyama in Argentina.  An advocate of peace, Barrientos launched the El Cielo Foundation over a decade ago targeting violence in his native Colombia and building the capacity of wounded warriors, former guerrilla soldiers, and indigenous peoples.

El Cielo Hotel lobby staircase, Medellín

Though a tunnel recently opened cutting transit times by over 30 minutes between Medellín and the airport, the booming growth and development in Rionegro and other Eastern suburbs mean that congestion is still a problem. There are currently two alternatives for airport traffic, both only two lanes: the “Tunel del Oriente” or “Tunnel of the East” and the traditional route from the Las Palmas suburban area to the airport. Travelers to Rionegro may also take the route 56 “La Ceja” alternative to bypass airport traffic, but it also is only a two-lane toll road.

The new 4 lane toll road will benefit the communities of El Santuario, La Unión, Carmen de Viborál, La Ceja, El Retiro, Rionegro, Envigado & Las Palmas

This new route will head from the “Sancho Paisa Roundabout” named after a popular restaurant located at the junction where the Las Palmas Avenue leading out of Medellín already meets with the airport toll road and the highway to La Ceja, Antioquia; and head to an unincorporated area called El Tablazo, halfway between the entrance to Medellín’s international airport and the suburb of Llanogrande. The road also provides easier access to the regional San Vicente hospital and benefits many metro residents who live too far up Medellín’s Aburrá Valley to benefit directly from the new tunnel route.

The road also benefits truck and motorcycle traffic, as only cars are permitted in the tunnel. Countless accidents and fatalities have been caused by risky passing attempts on the two-lane highways, and accidents often shut down traffic in both directions leading to many missed flights and other complications. The new highway, which should take 36 months to construct, should alleviate all those challenges.

The concession is a public-private partnership (PPP) meaning that the builders will be able to privately operate the route and charge tolls, without the need for public government financing or tax dollars spent on the project. Conconcreto has a 60% stake in the project, Castro Tcherassi has 30% and Procopal SA has 10%. The route runs through the municipalities of Envigado with jurisdiction over the Sancho Paisa roundabout, El Retiro, and Rionegro where the El Tablazo intersection is. Llanogrande and El Tablazo fall under the municipality of Rionegro.

“The teams are already working on the technical studies, final designs and the property, environmental, social and network obligations,” said Juan Luís Aristizábal, president of Conconcreto. “Once the project is approved by the auditors and the financing closes, we will proceed with the start of work, hopefully we can start before the end of the year.”

EAFIT now offers 21 undergraduate degrees, 65 specializations, 33 masters’ degrees, and four doctorates, across their colleges of Administration, Engineering, Sciences, Humanities, Law, Economics, and Finance. The university, with the principal campus located in the south of Medellín, just off of the Aguacatalá metro station, also has satellite campuses in Bogotá, Pereira, Llanogrande, and an MBA-specific campus in the Central American country of Guatemala; as well as several growing international alliances.

Above rendering (courtesy Grupo Argos): the new Centro Argos Para La Innovacion being built on EAFIT’s Campus

Finance Colombia’s executive editor Loren Moss sat down with EAFIT’s rector, Dr. Juan Luis Mejia Arango, in his Medellín offices to talk about EAFIT’s past, present and future.

Finance Colombia: We could start with a bit of the history. I understand, as I have heard, EAFIT was founded by a group of businessmen here in Antioquia to improve the quality of education. How was that?

Dr. Mejia: This university is 55 years old. It was founded in 1960, in a critical moment in all of Latin America. We were entering a new development model, known as the “The Cepalino Model,” through the Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL); a new economic focus for Latin America. That change of paradigm can be now summarized as: industrialization towards the inside, import substitutions, production of goods and services, which generated a grand shift towards urbanization here in Medellín, which already had a strong industrial base. By the end of the 1950s, businessmen of the city realized that they had a need for qualified managers for their companies. They did a study and the directors of our companies and big industries found out that they had engineers and lawyers, but there was no real professional management corps in Colombia.

EAFIT’s Rector, Dr. Juan Luis Mejia Arango (left) explains the university’s vision to Finance Colombia’s Loren Moss

That coincided with a moment of renewed relationships between the US and Latin America. Beginning with the Eisenhower administration, but mostly since Kennedy, with his Alianza por el Progreso, one of its objectives was the transference of new technologies towards Latin America. So the three things coincided: a new economic development model, the needs of the companies, and a new vision from the US towards Latin America. The three aspects came together and these businessmen gathered around ANDI (National Association of Colombian Businesspeople) and around one othervery important body in Colombia then, called INCOLDA (Instituto Colombiano de Administración), and succeeded in obtaining from the US Government, through what was known as ‘Chapter Four’ of the Alliance, teachers from Syracuse University. And with them, they started offering in Colombia the degree in business administration.

At the beginning, our initials were EAF, for Escuela de Administración y Finanzas. Professor. Hargadon still lives, he is like the father of modern accountancy in Colombia. [editor’s note: Bernard J Hargadon Jr. literally wrote the book on Accounting for Latin America: “Contabilidad de Costos” and began teaching accounting in Medellín within three months of EAF’s establishment] So, this school was founded in 1960 around those three, let’s say, pillars.

A few years later, the industry demand was for, let’s say, not only bachelor’s level administration, but also technicians and technologists for plant operations. So a parallel institute was created, called Instituto Tecnológico, that’s where we got our initials: Escuela de Administración y Finanzas e Instituto Tecnológico, to train technicians, then basically for the textiles industry. By 1970, the directors of the university saw that it was not then ideal to have professional studies alongside technical studies, and so the Instituto Tecnológico was suppressed. The IT disappeared and the directors made a jump to transform what was then a technical school into a university. The difference between a school and a university is that the school is directed towards only one specific area of knowledge, in this case business administration. On the other hand, a university has a vocation towards universality. So here, they decided to suppress the technical institute and to replace it with a new school of engineering.

“At this moment, we have 26 US teachers at EAFIT.”

Nevertheless, in those moments, the relationships between the US and Latin America were different, the interests were different. Today we look towards Europe, mostly Germans, who, via GTZ (known as GIZ since 2011), support development of the new engineering careers inside EAFIT. And then we created the engineering, production, process, mechanical, civil, systems, geology engineering, and lately design engineering programs. And now the university has moved even more towards universality, as we have been creating other schools: sciences, humanities, law, finance and economics and the last one is arts & sciences. That is the evolution of EAFIT, under a foundational principle we still abide by: professional practice. That is: the students from our university, before receiving their diploma, should have walked through the real world, through the world of enterprise.

Finance Colombia: Not only theory?

Dr. Mejia: Exactly. So that’s why all our careers have at least one semester in which the student, before receiving his or her degree, goes through the real world, the internship. Before that was only in private companies, but also nowadays in the public sector as well. It is something very interesting, how the concepts of administration, let’s say, designed for the private company, have permeated, and made an impact in the public sector. Here in Medellín for example, the mayor is an EAFIT graduate, the manager of EPM is an EAFIT graduate, the new director of the Medellin Metro is an EAFIT graduate. So what was once thought of as primarily for the private sector, also impacts the public sector these days. And I believe right here we have one of the keys to the new vision for the transformation of this city.

Finance Colombia: Which academic relationships does EAFIT have with other universities and institutions?

Dr. Mejia: Good question, because it brings up an interesting aspect. Look, unfortunately, the agenda between the US and Colombia, during the past few decades was focused on antinarcotics, at the expense of everything else. Nowadays the administrations, theirs [the US] as well as ours, are trying to restart those links. Because of this, we have recently had more relationships with European universities, than with US ones. After that initial stage, our relationships turned towards Europe, and nowadays we are also trying to reach Asia. We do not want to settle for any one model, but to have a variety. So, where do we stand now? Some historical relationships with Europe, basically France in mechanical and civil engineering; with the Dutch in design engineering.

EAFIT’s verdant campus on Medellin’s south side.

And we are trying to open relationships with the Asia-Pacific region. In our last strategic plan, we contemplated that this university could contribute to society by bringing this city and this society closer to Asia and the Pacific, and for that matter we have created a study center for Asia and the Pacific, and to try to get this society, which has always looked towards the Atlantic, to look also towards the Pacific. Even when Antioquia’s 21^st century vision was being discussed, when we said “Pacific” it referred to the two meanings of the word, not only “peaceful”, but also towards the Pacific Ocean. So today we have important relationships with Europe, with some Asian universities, and the academic relationships between US and Colombian universities are being rebuilt.

There is still a big obstacle: the travel advisories put out by the US State Department. As long as they remain, the relationships will be timid. But in the last few years we have seen a restart in our relationships with the US universities. The reluctance for some US academics to travel here because of the travel advisories is an obstacle which is still difficult to overcome. But we believe, with a peace treaty [with the FARC], that restriction will disappear. However, some important developments exist at this time. First, the interest expressed by some universities in the US towards Colombia; Purdue University, in Indiana, to start with.

With Purdue we have a magnificent relationship. And in their strategic plan, they have as an objective to contribute to the development of Colombia. For instance, with them we have installed the most powerful supercomputer in Colombia; we call it Apollo, in honor of Neil Armstrong, who was a Purdue graduate. That supercomputer has boosted research in Colombia in an exponential way, thanks to Purdue University.

We were the first university in Colombia to be part of President Obama’s new strategy of “100,000 Strong In The Americas,” to bring students from the US into Latin America. This semester we have the first 10 students. If we could get beyond those State Department Advisories, the relationships could be even more numerous. But I’m optimistic and the relationships with the US universities will continue to grow strongly in the upcoming years. Specifically we have been strengthening relationships in Indiana with Purdue, in Massachusetts with Brandeis University—we have a joint program with them; with FIU in Florida, with Tulane in New Orleans, with Carnegie Mellon; And slowly more relationships are being established. And also to bring teachers: At this moment, we have 26 US teachers at EAFIT. Not only in languages, but in other areas as well. And we have an increasing number of students studying doctorates in other universities. Yesterday I heard that a scholar, Luz María Martínez Sierra, from our physics engineering faculty, is in Pasadena, California, with NASA, on a project to send a satellite to Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, in search of water.

Finance Colombia: Yes, I read about it in the newspaper.

Centro Argos, under construction earlier this year.

Dr. Mejia: I believe every day the exchange increases with universities, and we have students of ours who used to look only towards Europe. Now it all belongs to history, but there was a point when I said, “Only war correspondents or DEA agents come to Medellin!” during many years. Now that has all changed, and I believe that the academic exchange continues to increase.

Finance Colombia: One good thing about how things have changed is that now we have seen a demand for news from Colombia.

Dr. Mejia: Positive news.

Finance Colombia: Not only from North America, but also from Europe and Asia. If a German or a Chinese wants to investigate or research Colombia, if they don’t speak Spanish, they will look for information in English. There is so much investment and so much businesses happening here, it is the number three economy in Latin America, and number two has 120 million inhabitants, and number one has 175 million inhabitants. So with less than 50 million people, Colombia is already number three, and is still growing. There are so many positive things happening here.

Dr. Mejia: I’m confident we will have a peace treaty. It does not mean we will have absolute peace, or that all violence will stop, but I do think we will have a quite different process. Let’s go back to the beginning: I think that with everything that has happened, there is a silent revolution in the qualification of Colombian universities. It is my opinion, that in the last 15 years there is a group of Colombian universities that have understood their role in society and in globalization, and are making a really serious effort at renovating themselves and bringing in teachers, training them, and I think those universities are supporting the idea of a new Colombia.

Finance Colombia: Continuing with that line of thought, something positive I have seen here, is that many people, students I’ve met who are first in their families to attend a university. Which initiatives and programs does EAFIT have in social inclusion? So that it is not just the case of: “I go to EAFIT because my father went to EAFIT.”—What is the university doing to include everyone else in the community?

Dr. Mejia: You are referring to one of the most delicate topics, because, at least in this stage of Colombia’s development, a university education is still, will be for some time, the biggest single factor in social mobility. What you are speaking of, I believe has great importance, and Colombian society is not yet generally aware of it: The possibility of access to universities for first generation students.

I will tell you first about national strategies and then about local ones, and then about EAFIT’s. Nationaly: I believe the program “Ser Pilo Paga,” with the 10,000 scholarships, faces the right direction. Just what you said: Based on the studies we’ve done, 98% of those students are 1st generation university students. Those are 10,000 families who will be forever different.

“Because the social image in society has been that EAFIT is the university of the economic elite. The great transformation we have tried to accomplish within this administration is to become known more as the university of the academic elite.”

In Medellín, a project, one of the first of its kind, with an agreement between the EPM Foundation and the universities, has given scholarships to some 24,000 students with limited resources so far. Imagine what this city would be like if those 24.000 hadn’t had this chance and had just stayed on street corners instead?

Another factor is what we do here inside the university. I imagine that in this moment we have some 1,800 students on scholarships. We make an effort in various ways. For one, we have a very beautiful program. Almost all university workers, 92% of them, to the extent of their abilities, we contribute a portion of our monthly salary into a fund and we use that to give scholarships to the best students in low-resource schools; we bring them to EAFIT.

But we don’t just only pay for their tuition, but we give them support for meals, transportation, and academic materials. We give them a daily meal allowance of $6,650 pesos for food in the university cafeterias, we provide $67,000 pesos monthly for transportation, and we give them an amount for supplies. And they are some of the best students, because they are the ones who make the most out of the university. The ones involved in all the cultural and social activities, sports; and I believe that is the way we can provide equity, and we are very proud of that.

“Now our doctoral students will be there solving real problems, real industry challenges, and obviously financed by the industry itself.”

Because the social image in society has been that EAFIT is the university of the economic elite. The great transformation we have tried to accomplish within this administration is to become known more as the university of the academic elite.

Finance Colombia: How will EAFIT be different three years from now than it is today? What initiatives are you launching?

Dr. Mejia: Several strategies. Number one: languages. We believe one of the factors that impedes competitiveness in the city is the lack of foreign language skills. Next month we will start to build a big language center, in two areas, one here in the south at the university, we expect to teach some 20,000 students every year in languages.

Auditorium of the Centro Argos Para La Innovacion being built on EAFIT’s campus. (courtesy Grupo Argos)

Number two: in sciences. We have created the new science school; we believe the industry and the private sector should have a scientific and technological livelihood in accord with our times, so we will strengthen the area of science academics.

And number three, we promote, above all, the great relationship between the companies and the university. We are about to open the research center Centro Argos Para La Innovacion, financed mainly Grupo Argos, who is building the research center here inside the university. We are negotiating with another three or four companies for them to bring their research and development entities into the university as well.

So for instance, Grupo Argos is investing 17 million dollars in this new research center, because according to their vision, by the year 2020, they expect 25% of their revenues to be generated by products that do not yet exist. So this will be the womb from where the new products and technologies will emerge.

For us that is very important, because it allows us to acquire research resources which for us alone would be very costly. They might have an atomic scanning (electron) microscope, which by ourselves would take long time to acquire, but now our doctoral students will be there solving real problems, real industry challenges, and obviously financed by the industry itself.

So that’s the third aspect, Loren. A great relationship with a great group of companies who have realized that without innovation their companies would be at risk in the future. So that’s what we go for: a great relationship between the university and the private sector.