This tourist constructions project is led by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and executed through Fontur, for a cost of $46,791 million.
The project includes the manufacture, supply, transportation and installation of floating river docks.
The docks will be constructed in 81 municipalities of 26 departments of the country, including Chocó, Putumayo, Guainía, Guaviare, Vaupés, Vichada, La Guajira and Magdalena.
With the aim of strengthening tourism in the regions, river connectivity and improving access conditions for the coastal villages of Colombia, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, through the National Tourism Fund, Fontur and together with the Science and Technology Corporation for the Naval, Maritime and River Industry, Cotecmar, signed a contract by $46,791 million COP.
This contract will lead the manufacture, supply, transportation, installation and commissioning of 88 floating river docks.
The announcement was made by the general manager of Fontur, Álvaro Balcázar and the president of Cotecmar, Rear Admiral Luis Fernando Márquez, within the framework of ExpoDefensa, the international Fair of technological development and innovation for the security and defense forces, which takes place in Corferias, Bogotá.
The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña Mendoza, highlighted the signing of this agreement that “confirms the commitment of the government of President Gustavo Petro Urrego to strengthen the connectivity of our territories; reactivate tourism in the regions, especially in the most remote ones; and improve the living conditions of Colombians in riverside villages.”
The high official added that this agreement with one of the most important shipyard institutions in the country “leads us to progress in the implementation of our Reindustrialization policy, under the command of the Government of Change to generate the necessary productive chains that ensure economic reactivation and the generation of employment and wellbeing in the country.”
According to Álvaro Balcázar, manager of Fontur, “this project will impact 81 municipalities in 26 departments including: Chocó, Putumayo, Guainía, Guaviare, Vaupés, Vichada, La Guajira, Magdalena and will benefit 2.5 million people. The docks will generate a positive impact on 2.5 million people, including inhabitants of the municipalities, tourists and tourism services providers.”
For his part, Rear Admiral Luis Fernando Márquez, president of Cotecmar, said that “for Cotecmar, every construction and every new project has a special meaning, but this particularly, will benefit more than 2 million inhabitants, which is unprecedented in terms of products with social benefit. At the Corporation, we are pleased to generate alliances with national institutions for this purpose.”
He specified that the piers will be built at the Corporation's facilities in the Mamonal industrial zone, in the city of Cartagena.
For his part, Balcázar added that “at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and Fontur, we recognize that construction interventions generate value to territories. This leads to taking better benefits of the country's competitive advantages and achieving better levels of tourism quality, which attracts a greater flow of travelers and income for the actors in the tourism value chain.”
The project will have a duration of 20 months after the signing of the contract initiation act, and will be carried out in five phases that include: operation plans, studies and detailed designs, regulatory compliance, manufacturing and preparation for field, installation and instruction and finally the presentation of the pier.
Tourist piers
It should be noted that 49% of the municipalities where the docks will be installed are on the banks of the Magdalena River and the others are on 22 rivers such as the Atrato, Cauca, Guaviare, Putumayo, Sinú Casanare, Caquetá, Vaupés, Orinoco, among others; in 4 swamps (Escobillas, Ciénaga Grande, Caimito, Ciénaga de la Villa); 5 reservoirs (Gúajaro, La miel, La Salvajina, Prado and Calima); 2 lagoons (Tota and La Cocha) and 2 dams (Arroyo Grande - El Playón and Betania).
Source: Communications Office - Ministry of National Defense
