The Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure (CCI) responded to President Gustavo Petro's statements suggesting that the fiscal deficit could be offset by cuts to investments in already contracted road concessions and the return of resources held in trusts. The business group clarified that those funds are not available surpluses but resources earmarked for ongoing works, and the actual available amount is $6.5 trillion, not $18 trillion as claimed by the president.
The CCI issued a letter responding to Petro's claims made during the Council of Ministers, where the president stated that the fiscal deficit could be addressed through reductions in already contracted road concessions and the recovery of resources managed in trusts. According to the group, these resources do not constitute available funds or fiscal surpluses but are earmarked for ongoing contracts to ensure the execution of strategic works.
"Its legal and functional nature is clear: it is directly linked to the fulfillment of previously acquired contractual obligations by the State," the CCI explained in the document. They also refuted the $18 trillion figure cited by Petro, stating that the funds available for gradual payments on works under construction total $6.5 trillion, managed by trusts to guarantee their completion.
Juan Martín Caicedo, executive president of the CCI, clarified: "The funds truly available today for paying for the works delivered gradually, as the projects are built, amount to $6.5 trillion, which are properly managed by the trusts precisely to ensure the full execution of the works."
The CCI's letter warns that the call to return these resources positions infrastructure as a fiscal adjustment variable, which is paradoxical given the government's emphasis on settling state debts while questioning future disbursements that are sovereign payment commitments. This raises concerns about the legal and financial stability of the sector. As a precedent, they reference the early termination of the cargo corridor concession contract between Barranquilla and Cartagena, which reverted the project to the State and impacts regional connectivity, logistics, and competitiveness, setting a poor example for infrastructure contracts.
