Due to a lack of funds, public-private partnerships would be the solution for building at least three terminals.
The Mobility Master Plan, developed several years ago, called for the construction of at least four transportation terminals in Bogotá: in the north, south, east, and west. To date, only the southern terminal, in Bosa, is operational, and there has been some progress—albeit limited—on the Northern Transportation Terminal, located at the intersection of the Autopista and Calle 193.
José Orlando Rodríguez, manager of the Bogotá Transportation Terminal, told Caracol Radio that a lack of funds has prevented these projects from moving forward. The only way to proceed would be through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
«The sites have undoubtedly been identified, but the funding is not available. There is no funding from the District; studies have been conducted since 2011, and the way to carry out the projects is through public-private partnerships—companies that will handle the construction and can operate them commercially for the next few years,» explained the manager of the Bogotá Transportation Terminal.
Transportation Terminal in the West: The Most Feasible Option
The manager of the Transportation Terminal also told Caracol Radio that he considers it unlikely that construction will begin before the end of this year on the terminals budgeted for Soacha, Usme, and on Calle 13 on the outskirts of the city, but it is possible that the public-private partnership proposal to build the transportation terminal on Calle 80, next to the Transmilenio portal, will move forward.
«It would be a multimodal transportation hub, with a budget of 200,000 million pesos. The proposal has already been submitted and is currently under review,» Rodríguez explained.
In the coming weeks, it will become clear whether the proposal to build a transportation terminal on Calle 80 in western Bogotá is feasible.
How is the Northern Transportation Terminal coming along?
Construction remains at a standstill. Earlier this year, the contract was terminated due to the contractor’s breach of contract, but it appears that no new construction schedule has been established since then.
After the project was declared expired, the project supervisor was required to prepare a detailed report on the characteristics of the work already completed by the contractor, so that the new contractor could establish a schedule for the remaining work; however, the project supervisor has not yet submitted the report.
