Colombia to invest $1.7 bn in socioeconomic development of Pacific region

Bogota, Jul 29 (EFE).- Colombia’s government plans to invest 5 trillion pesos (some $1.75 billion) over the next decade in 200 social development projects in the Pacific region, an impoverished area beset by the country’s armed conflict, officials said.

The investment outlay is part of the government’s “Todos Somos Pazcifico” (We Are All Peacific) strategy, which President Juan Manuel Santos unveiled in October and includes programs in the areas of public utilities and urban development; connectivity and competitiveness; the environment, culture and sustainable development; health, education, employment and social mobility; and the strengthening of institutional capacity.

“The Pacific is a strategic part of the country due to its geographical location. It’s a region where 90 percent of the population is of African or indigenous descent and a very environmentally sensitive area,” the director of the “Todos Somos Pazcifico” initiative, Luis Gilberto Murillo, told foreign correspondents Tuesday.

The government’s plan encompasses 64 municipalities – mostly coastal areas of Choco, Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Nariño provinces, as well as a portion of Antioquia province – that are among those with the nation’s lowest indicators of socioeconomic development.

The targeted areas include Colombia’s two main Pacific ports, Buenaventura and Tumaco, which have been hard hit by violence involving leftist guerrillas, drug-trafficking gangs and other criminal organizations.

The strategy is aimed at reducing the socioeconomic gap between those municipalities and the rest of the country, increasing their competitiveness and improving public safety.

“We want to establish early-response projects that create confidence in the region,” Murillo added.

The first development phase will run from this year through 2018, while the second will last from 2019 to 2022 and the third from 2023 to 2025.

Citizen participation, private-sector support and international cooperation will play a key role in carrying out the programs, Murillo said, adding that “the Pacific won’t be developed unless a virtuous circle is created to create jobs.”

The Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank will help fund the project with a $400 million loan and also provide technical assistance with several programs.

Other funding for the initiative will come from Colombia’s national budget, a royalties fund, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and the U.S. Agency for International Development. EFE