Mendoza advises Barranquilla on $100m credit facility

Mendoza Abogados has advised the Special, Industrial and Port District of Barranquilla (Barranquilla), the fourth largest city in Colombia by number of inhabitants, in obtaining an external credit for a value of US$100,000,000, guaranteed by the Nation, from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

This transaction started on 26 October 2023 and closed on 26 January 2024. The credit will be used to finance and contribute to the implementation of the “Programa Biodiverciudad y Equidad Urbana en Barranquilla”, a pioneering city development plan focused on urban equity and sustainability.

This credit was also supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, which contributed to the District of Barranquilla with about US$6,125,000 in the form of non-refundable financing.

This operation marks a milestone for Barranquilla and will allow the city to promote, with the support of the IDB and the Spanish Cooperation Agency, the sustainable use of strategic ecosystems such as mangrove ecosystems and the works of the Ecoparque Ciénega de Mallorquín, equitable access to public space and promote the integration of different populations in the city.

The consultancy involved the negotiation and closing of the credit contracts and financing agreements with the IDB, as well as obtaining the required regulatory authorisations from the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and the negotiation and closing with the latter of the counter-guarantees required by the Nation to grant the Nation’s guarantee to the IDB.

Javier Jiménez Mosquera acted as in-house counsel for the Inter-American Development Bank.

Mendoza’s team included partner Mateo Mendoza (pictured left) and associate Luis Armando Tolosa (pictured right).