HIGHWAYS FOR PROSPERITY
Colombia’s largest-ever public works program, the US$25 billion Fourth Generation of the Road Concessions Program, encompasses 47 projects to build about
8,000 kilometers ( 4,971 miles) of roads. Its largest project, Highways for Prosperity, is a US$13 billion initiative to create a network of four-lane highways spanning
1,160 kilometers (721 miles) between Medellín and Colombia’s ports, reducing
travel time by more than half.
PORT OF CARTAGENA MEGA 2017 PROJECT
Aiming to become one of the world’s 30 best
megaports, the Port of Cartagena will invest
US$1 billion to overhaul and expand its facilities
by 2017. The project will more than double the
port’s capacity.
PROJECT PO
Companies such as ADA and Digitex have chosen Colombia as their Latin American base for BPO
services largely because of government incentives,
including free-trade zones where companies receive
preferential tax rates, according to KPMG. Other
incentives include the government’s Productive
Transformation Program, which facilitates IT and
BPO growth by working with industry to identify
and address private-sector needs; the Digital Talent initiative, through which the government has
allocated about US$19 million for education grants
to Colombians who want to obtain IT degrees; and
Vive Digital, a US$2.45
billion program to
increase high-speed
Internet infrastructure and access across
Colombia.
An abundance of
educated, skilled and
a;ordable labor is a
major draw for IT and
As Colombia’s project landscape ;ourishes,
and its project management practices mature, the
nation will reap the rewards, Mr. Vargas says. “I had
an opportunity to work in the United States, but I
decided to stay in my country because it is growing,” he says. “Security and the economy are getting
better and better, and opportunities for project
managers are increasing. I’m very con;dent about
the future of Colombia.” PM
“Security and
the economy are
getting better
and better, and
opportunities for
project managers
are increasing. I’m
very confident
about the future.”
—Rodrigo Vargas, PMP, Conequipos
Ing. Ltda., Medellín, Colombia
A highway in the department
of Antioquia built through
the national Highways for
Prosperity project
