A significant reduction in borrowing capacity and an increase in the value of debt on account of the devaluation of the peso are the two problems facing the Secretary of Finance of Antioquia.
Luz Elena Gaviria, head of the Secretariat, explained that at December 31, 2019 the department owed US$ 1.1 billion and US$147 million. Converted this last balance to colombian pesos pesos, total $ 1.59 billion. That money is equivalent to 39% of the investment and budget that Antioquia approved for the term 2020. That is why Gaviria warned about the need to find new sources of financing to cover regional needs: “There is no way to hide that the department’s finances are complicated because the revenues are the same many years ago and there has been no diversification,” he said.
Deputy Luis Peláez said that the departure of the Coltabaco company from the metropolitan area and the change of legal nature that must be made to the FLA before mid-year can affect the cash flow of the department. “You have to take care of those finances because there are key projects such as the Antioquia railway and the Toyo tunnel,” he said.
