President Bernardo Arévalo affirmed this Tuesday, June 23, that the Government has no relationship with the Aerometro project, promoted by the Municipality of Guatemala, and assured that the central administration maintains the development of Metrorail as a priority, an initiative that, as he indicated, continues in the process of analysis with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
During a press conference, the president rejected versions that, he said, seek to present the Executive as the promoter of the Aerometro to replace the Metroriel.
“There is a whole process of incredible misinformation,” said Arévalo when referring to the allegations about an alleged adoption of the municipal project by the Government.
The president explained that the Aerometro is an initiative of the Municipality of Guatemala and that the participation of the Executive is limited to the fulfillment of the functions established by law for different State institutions.
“The Aerometro is a project of the Municipality of Guatemala, it is not a Government project. The municipality is the one that assumes all responsibilities. We have no design, no financing or anything there, other than what the law tells us we have to do,” he stated.
Arévalo pointed out that government entities only intervene in administrative processes related to authorizations and licenses required for the execution of the work.
As an example, he mentioned the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing, which must grant the corresponding construction licenses, and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, which, he indicated, issued environmental authorizations since last year.
The president reiterated that the Executive has not abandoned the Metroriel project and that it is currently in talks with the British Government to evaluate a possible contract.
“We are in the process of discussing with the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain for the possible contracting of a Metrorail that would run on the north-south line, more or less following the railway track that existed before,” he explained.
According to Arévalo, this initiative constitutes the Government’s priority in terms of rail transport and is part of the projects promoted directly by the central administration.
“This Metroriel project belongs to the Government of the Republic,” he emphasized.
The president added that the coordination between the Executive and the Municipality of Guatemala also includes procedures related to other infrastructure projects.
As he explained, while the municipal authorities request licenses for the Aerometro, the Government also requires authorizations to develop the Metroriel and other works aimed at improving mobility and addressing traffic problems.
“The Aerometro is a project of the Municipality. They asked us for licenses and we are giving them to the extent that they meet the requirements. At the same time, we ask them for licenses to build the Metrorail and another series of road infrastructure projects that we are doing to begin to influence the traffic problem,” he said.
Arévalo concluded by reiterating that both projects correspond to different entities and ruled out that there is a change in priorities on the part of his administration.
“The Aerometro belongs to the municipality and the Metroriel belongs to the Government,” he stated.
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