Decision on management of tranvía project will be made today, mayor says

Cuenca Mayor Marcelo Cabrera says the city is ready to take over project management for construction of the tram. He says he will make a decision today.

Tram construction on Gran Colombia.

Cabrera declared a state of “transportation emergency” on Saturday after announcing that negotiations had broken down with Consorcio Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca (CCRC), the Spanish Basque company currently overseeing the project.

Informal negotiations continue with CCRC, the mayor said, and it is possible that a last minute agreement can still be reached. On Cuenca talk radio and social media, some commentators are suggesting that Cabrera’s emergency declaration and announcement that the city will take over construction management is a bluff to force concessions from CCRC.

Cabrera says the emergency declaration allows him and the municipal council to immediately take over management if necessary. He says he will present his plan to the council next week.

“We cannot wait to mediate or litigate our differences with CCRC,” he says. “The people of Cuenca have suffered enough with the construction, especially the businesses in El Centro, and we are prepared to act to move the project forward.”