Scam the Government’s reversal of the promise not to raise tolls this yearThe Ministry of Finance will analyze what is the appropriate moment to raise these charges for drivers on the country’s highways.
After the Ministry of Transport said that these charges were going to be compensated with a valuation tax to the neighbors of the roads that could collect, this same year, up to 25 trillion pesos, in reality there was a deficit of 800,000 million pesos.
(Also read: Freezing tolls would generate a “fiscal contingency” for $13.8 billion)
“Just so that we have a dimension -says the Minister of Transportation, William Camargo-, that freezing leaves us with a deficit of 800,000 million pesos, that is, we had to ask him for an 800,000 million haciendayes”.
The Government added 500,000 million pesos in the budget expansion to pay concessions that cannot increase their rate, as dictated by the contracts, on January 15, 2023 (34 of 39 projects, according to ANI).
If the amount of the deficit indicated by Camargo that stands out is taken into account, the money approved in the budget expansion would not be enough to pay off the debts of the Government with road concessions.
The amount of the gap of 800,000 million pesos mentioned by Camargo coincides with the calculation made by the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure (CCI)union that brings together road concession firms, which would leave 300,000 million in the air, about which there is still no certainty as to how they would be financed.
Courtesy Autopistas del Caribe Concessionaire
Its objective was to reduce the impact on the basket of Colombians
He toll rate freeze for the vehicles that travel through the cargo roads of Invías and the ANI was one of the decisions of the government of Gustavo Petro in his first months in office.
The Minister of Transport recorded that the freezing of tariffs announced by the Government a few months ago was aimed at mitigated the impact on the basket of Colombians.
In this way, he went from speaking, in January, to do not put more pressure on inflationto talk about the resources that are used to pay the concessionaires of the roads were used in schools or in basic sanitation.
In addition, at least two lawsuits have already been filed by concessionaires who, due to the contractual figure, cannot receive resources from the budget addition that was allocated to compensate for the money not collected in the booths.
(Also read: Freezing of tolls can unleash a ‘rain of lawsuits’ against the State)
William Camargo, Minister of Transportation
Mauricio Moreno. TIME
The Ministry of Finance is reviewing monthly how the economy is behaving
according to Minister of Transportation, William CamargoIf a person travels every day, they are receiving savings that are being paid by the National Budget, when there are other needs to invest.
“The money that we don’t pay,” he says, “is taking the nation’s budget, which is used to attend, for example, schools in Chocó, basic sanitation in La Guajira, and health problems in other areas of the country.”
Minister Camargo said that there is still no date for the increase, after the rate has already been frozen for about seven months, but it is a fact that it will go up this year.
Camargo assures that the Ministry of Finance is reviewing monthly how the economy is behavingin order to see when inflation is weakened to a lesser extent food prices, in order to decide the right time to raise tolls that was not done in January.
(Also read: The ANI faces 19 lawsuits that have more than $7 billion at stake)
The figure of their contracts does not allow them to receive money from the budget addition
In any case, this adjustment must be made in the remainder of this year, since for next year the increase from 2023 would be added to that of 2024, and a greater deficit could be generated.
According to the official, studies are being carried out to unfreeze these ratesand in these analyzes to raise the rates, work is done with the Treasury portfolio.
According to Camargo, the increase in tolls would not be all at once, and these are the scenarios that the team from the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI)because it would be this year’s increase, next year’s increase, the magnitude of which is not yet known.
Meanwhile, the concessionaires Vías del Nus and Ruta al Mar have already filed lawsuits for the freezing of tolls. The figure of their contracts does not allow them to receive money from the budget additionbut Minister Camargo says that it can be solved through conciliation.
