The National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) of Colombia has awarded a one-year, 71.7bn Pesos ($18m) contract for the maintenance and upgrade of the vital La Dorada – Chiriguaná line. 

The 522km route connects La Dorada, between the nation’s largest cities of Bogotá and Medellín, and Chiriguaná in the northern Caribbean region. The new contract is intended to improve operational efficiency on the line. 

The tender was awarded to the San Felipe Férreo Consortium, consisting of three local construction companies: Castro Tcherassi, Infraestructura Comsa Colombia and Comsa Colombia. 

The line transported nearly 90,000t of goods in 2022, with paper and coffee among key exports for Colombia making up the majority of freight carried.