[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] Second Bridge over the Chama River (Linked to Record ID#58677)

Project narrative

On March 18, 2014, approval was granted in a Punto de Cuenta for use of the China-Venezuela Joint Fund to finance the Second Bridge Over the Chama River Project. According to a Venezuelan government gazette, the project was to have a budget of 3,133,352,000 Bolivars. The project was to be financed by the China-Venezuela Fund, but subject to the availability of resources from the financing source throughout the execution of the project. Implementation of the project was assigned to Sociedad Anónima Vialidad y Construcciones Sucre (VYCSUCRE), to begin immediately upon publication of the gazette. The main purpose of the project was to build a second bridge over the Cama river, thereby improving road connectivity between the states of Mérida, Táchira, Zulia, and Trujillo, as well as the border area with Colombia. The project was to take place in three phases, beginning with the construction of the bridge itself, progressing to construction of a road to connect the bridge to the town of Vigía, and ending with construction of an additional 30 kilometers of road. The Chama II Bridge was planned to be built with reinforced concrete and have a total length of 864 meters and a width of 20.4 meters, with two lanes in each direction. The project was initially intended to be completed by December 31, 2015. However, construction of the bridge was intermittent. As of November 2024, only one of the two lane sides of the bridge had been completed, with construction paused indefinitely. According to media reports, 476 million dollars were disbursed for the project. The China-Venezuela Joint Fund receives contributions from China Development Bank and FONDEN, and it is administered by BANDES. See Record ID#58677 for more information on the fund. The first commitment to this fund was made in 2007.