• Colombia cancelled the COP1.14tn Amazonas and Putumayo fibre tender after its estimated cost rose 67.1% from the original 2025 budget
  • The government must now decide how to redesign or replace a network that was intended to connect about 100,000 households

The fact

Colombia's Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications has cancelled a planned fibre network across the Amazonas and Putumayo departments after its estimated cost increased from COP683bn to about COP1.14tn. The ministry said its review identified financial uncertainty as well as technical, environmental and effective-coverage risks.

The project was intended to connect about 100,000 households and 227,000 people through more than 1,600km of fibre using river and terrestrial routes. Plans included connections to Colombia's national backbone and Brazil's InfoVías infrastructure. Funding covering construction, operation and maintenance had been approved through 2035, and future spending was authorised on 4 August before the tender was cancelled later that month. The ministry has not yet announced a replacement project or said whether a revised network would retain the planned connection with Brazil.

The assessment

The cancellation changes what MinTIC has to do next. The ministry is no longer choosing a contractor to build the network. It first has to decide whether the planned route, technical design and budget still make sense. With the estimated cost up 67.1% and new technical, environmental and coverage risks identified, the original plan cannot simply be put back out to tender unchanged.

MinTIC now needs to review the project design before procurement can restart. That means deciding which parts of the original scheme to keep, including the mix of river and land-based fibre and the planned connection with Brazil, and then matching that design with a budget the government is prepared to fund. The goal of improving connectivity in Amazonas and Putumayo has not changed, but the government still needs a plan it believes can actually be delivered.

For BTW readers, the next sign of progress is a revised project that is ready to return to procurement. That means a clear route, budget and delivery plan, not another funding announcement on its own. Until MinTIC publishes those details, the project remains a connectivity goal rather than infrastructure ready to be built.

What to watch

Watch for a replacement network plan, revised budget and new procurement timetable from MinTIC. Any new design should show how the government intends to address the technical, environmental and coverage risks behind the cancellation. Whether it keeps the proposed Brazilian interconnection will also show how much of the original network design survives.