The National Infrastructure Agency rejected Odinsa's private initiative IP Conexión Centro, which included $7 trillion in investments. President Gustavo Petro defended the decision, while business leader Bruce Mac Master criticized it.
Transport Minister María Fernanda Rojas confirmed that the ANI rejected the project after a technical and legal analysis. The proposal included 77 kilometers of new roads and improvements to 317 kilometers of corridors between Armenia, Pereira, Manizales and Calarcá-La Paila.
President Gustavo Petro stated that the decision would create "thousands of permanent jobs in production that will grow by imposing precisely fewer tolls". Andi president Bruce Mac Master replied that the government is "celebrating a decision to renounce 54,000 jobs, $7 trillion in investment and numerous works".
Grupo Argos and Cementos Argos shares fell on the Colombia Stock Exchange following the announcement. The Attorney General's Office opened preventive oversight of the road corridor and requested information from the Transport Ministry and ANI on the future of the Autopistas del Café concession.
