Antioquia Governorate and Invías Clash Over Toyo Tunnel Equipment; Photos Show Year-Old Gear Gathering Dust

A significant dispute has erupted between the Antioquia Governorate and Colombia's national infrastructure agency, Invías, over the stalled installation of crucial electromechanical equipment for the massive Toyo Tunnel project. The tunnel, poised to become the longest in Latin America and connect Medellín with the Urabá region, is reportedly at an 80% completion stage, according to regional authorities.

Antioquia Governor Andrés Julián Rendón has publicly accused the national government of intentionally delaying the project, calling it "the last mechanism the National Government found to annoy us." Rendón stated that the national government's failure to install the equipment, which has been stored for over a year, is a deliberate obstruction. He highlighted that the regional governments of Medellín and Antioquia had to step in and finance the project's completion, investing 850 billion pesos after receiving the work at less than 50% execution.

“

It is the last mechanism the National Government found to annoy us. They were very upset that we finished the work that was their responsibility in record time and financed it.

Rendón's administration has assumed the costs for the electromechanical equipment, initially budgeted for the following year by the national government. "Let them stop messing around, let them install the equipment. It is truly a work that corresponded to the Nation, we did it and it serves the entire country," Rendón declared during the 'Antioquia Impacts and Transforms' forum organized by EL TIEMPO.

However, Invías has firmly refuted the governor's claims, presenting technical committee records to counter the political narrative. The agency asserts that technical problems, rather than political will, are the reason for the delay in installing the equipment. This disagreement leaves the ambitious Toyo Tunnel project in a state of limbo, with essential components gathering dust while regional and national authorities trade accusations.

“

Let them stop messing around, let them install the equipment. It is truly a work that corresponded to the Nation, we did it and it serves the entire country.