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Bogotá.-Empresa Férrea Regional, in charge of the Regiotram de Occidente light rail project, expects to obtain the environmental license from the environmental authority Anla by the end of March. The value of the project is estimated at US$543 million.
It is worth noting that in April last year, Anla denied the environmental license for the project. However, in October, Concesionaria Férrea de Occidente resubmitted the application.
Governor Nicolás García, with the support of the National Government, has been leading the process to obtain the license. On December 1, the request for additional information was received from Anla and the concessionaire has a term of one month, extendable for another month, to deliver the required information. According to the manager of Empresa Férrea Regional, Andrés Hernández, it is estimated that by the end of the year the concessionaire will be able to submit the required information.
The environmental license is required for the section from kilometer zero to kilometer five in Bogotá, as well as for the section between kilometer 35 and kilometer 40 in Facatativá.
Hernández also mentioned that in the other sections, which cover approximately 30 kilometers, some preliminary activities previously agreed with the environmental licensing authority may be carried out, such as the removal of the rails and some hydraulic infrastructures. These activities, according to the execution plan, would take seven to eight months. In the meantime, the environmental licensing process continues in order to continue with the construction of the project.
The Regiotram de Occidente will be the first regional commuter train in the country and will operate with an all-electric system. It is expected to carry 130,000 passengers daily and will connect Bogotá with the municipalities of Funza, Madrid, Mosquera and Facatativá in the Cundinamarca province of Sabana Occidente.
The project will also connect to Bogotá’s first metro line and has been in the pre-construction stage since the middle of last year. According to initial schedules, construction of the train was to begin in April 2023 and operation was scheduled for April 2026.
