Although in January the mayors of Guatemala City, Ricardo Quiñónezand from Villa Nueva, Mynor Morales Zuritathey estimated that the Frutal-Cenma bridge could be completed within a period of between 24 and 36 monthsthis period will begin to be counted only from the award of the project and the signing of the contract for its construction.
Before reaching that stage, the bridge must still complete a series of technical, administrative and legal processes.
As explained Cecilia Pivaraldirector of Revolving Fund for Preinvestment in Infrastructure (FIP) of the initiative Guatemala Doesn’t Stopthe project is currently in the reactivation phase of feasibility studies, after being suspended for the last year.
First phase: conclude the technical studies
Pivaral indicated that the FIP is currently quoting the contracting of services to complete the technical studies.
The expectation is to award these works in the next two months and that their execution will take around 300 daysequivalent to about 10 months. If this schedule is met, the technical studies phase could conclude around July 2027.
Upon completion, all technical documentation will be delivered to the Government.
Second phase: complete administrative studies
In addition to the engineering studies, administrative studies must still be prepared to structure the project for its execution.
The director of the FIP pointed out that this stage requires the support of the Central Government and coordination between different institutions.
Third phase: resolve legal aspects
Among the pending steps is reaching agreements between Feguaowner of the railway right-of-way, and Railwaysusufructuary of the railway corridor.
It will also be necessary to coordinate actions between the Government and the municipalities to guarantee the social viability of the project.
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Fourth phase: define financing and contracting
Although the project was included within the Priority Road Infrastructure Lawthe resources cannot yet be executed.
Pivaral explained that the Directorate of Priority Road Projects (DIPP) is still waiting for the approval of the regulation that will allow it to receive funds coming mainly from the fuel tax and the vehicle circulation tax.
Once the studies are completed, the Government must decide whether to carry out the work through a Alliance for the Development of Economic Infrastructure (ANI) or through the DIPP itself.
Fifth phase: start construction
Only after completing the previous stages can the bidding, award and signing of the contract process begin.
It will be from that moment on that the estimated period of time will begin to run. 24 to 36 months to build the bridge.
Why is the Frutal-Cenma Bridge important?
He Frutal-Cenma bridge It was conceived as a multimodal infrastructure that will integrate vehicular traffic, bicycle lanes, pedestrian crossings and the railway corridor of the MetroRail.
As background, on January 29, the mayors Ricardo Quiñónez and Mynor Morales Zurita presented the project and explained that the lower part of the bridge was designed to allow the passage of the MetroRiel, a connection considered strategic within the Mobility Master Plan prepared with the support of Koica.
The MetroRiel is part of the national mobility strategy
The advance of Frutal-Cenma bridge It also becomes relevant in the context of the infrastructure strategy presented by the president Bernardo Arevalo last July 2, during the event Guatemala Transformsorganized by the Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce.
In that activity, the president announced that the Government promotes 13 strategic infrastructure and transportation projects to improve mobility in the metropolitan area and pointed out that several of these works are already in different stages of execution or reactivation.
Arévalo highlighted that planning is based on the Mobility Master Plan prepared with the support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica), the same technical instrument that contemplates the Ring Road 2corridor where the Frutal-Cenma bridge project is located.
Among the prioritized works he mentioned the MetroRailwhose feasibility and financial structuring process continues, as well as the Belize Bridge 2, currently in the process of reactivation. Although the president did not make specific reference to the Frutal-Cenma bridge, this infrastructure has been identified in technical studies as a complementary component for the operation of the railway system, by allowing the passage of the MetroRiel and improving the connection between the metropolitan south and Guatemala City.