We are delighted to welcome the City of Bogotá, Colombia as the newest member of CoST. With a firm commitment to CoST principles, the Mayor’s Office of Bogota and its civil society and private sector partners, will now set in motion an ambitious plan to heighten the infrastructure transparency, participation and accountability of several high-value projects.

The City’s membership to CoST aligns with a broader reform package overseen by a newly established Transparency Committee which focusses on promoting integrity in projects which ensure positive social, environmental and economic outcomes. CoST Bogotá will also be able to build on existing policy and legal requirements which mandate disclosure on most of the data points included in the CoST Infrastructure Data Standard.

Funded by the Mayor’s Office of Bogota and supported by the CoST International Secretariat, in its initial phase the programme will focus on projects from health, water and transport sectors which equate to US$7.3 billion and include the City’s new metro line currently under construction.

As part of their application to the CoST Board, the City of Bogotá submitted an implementation plan demonstrating ambitious and comprehensive intentions to set in motion the core features of CoST, including details relating to its multi-stakeholder oversight, the design and roll out of the CoST disclosure process, management arrangements and training for the procuring entities of projects.

The plan also outlines the how CoST Bogotá will deliver an online data disclosure platform to ensure data is published in a timely way and is made accessible to civil society, the media, citizens and others.

To mark the City joining CoST, the Mayor’s Office will make a public announcement over the coming month to emphasise how its membership to CoST can deliver infrastructure that meets people’s needs and ensures value for money. We look forward to supporting the City on its new journey, sharing lessons and innovations from our global membership and ensuring the programme is a success.

Any future applications to join CoST as a member will be reviewed within a competitive process. Details of the next process will be announced on the CoST website.