The noise of workers constructing the first phase of the Bello Arts and Crafts Park (PAO) continues to resonate in the old Antioquia railway workshops. This project, co-financed by the Metropolitan Area and the municipality of Bello, aims to recover part of the imposing space that once housed the machines and wagons that transformed Antioquia with their movement.
The works, which began in 2022 and were scheduled to extend until the end of 2023, have gradually changed part of the space that – despite the constant damage caused by “graffiti artists” and vandals – still stands imposingly next to the Bello Metro station, a constant reminder of what was perhaps the most efficient means of transportation in the country.
The issue is that, with less than a month left until the end of the semester, it is evident that the works will not be ready by the deadline agreed upon during the last visit to the site by the then director of the Metropolitan Area, Juan David Palacio.
On December 26, Palacio said: “We aspire that the auditorium – one of the main work fronts – can be operating in the first months of the year (2024)”. The problem is that for now the works lack two “little things” to meet the goal set by Palacio almost five months ago: time and, above all, money.
A New Face
The first phase of the recovery of the old workshops to convert them into the Arts and Crafts Park (PAO) consists of the intervention of an area of 8,599 square meters of the almost century-old buildings. These will give way to a large theater that will have seating for 641 people, as well as digital rooms, libraries, a music school, a documentary management center for heritage and the performing arts, and also as a center for development and innovation.
For this purpose, nearly $80.4 billion were required, of which the Metropolitan Area contributed $60.267 billion and Bello $20.423 billion. With money in hand, the intervention allowed the rehabilitation of walls and original metal structures of the Railway Workshops to improve the space.
These works continue to this day with an 85% progress in the theater and 50% in the school of arts and music, which means an approximately 65% execution of the entire Phase 1 of the PAO.
Money is Missing
In view of this panorama, it was surprising the finding made by the Bello administration and the incoming one that arrived at the Metropolitan Area, since the report delivered by Palacio stated that Phase 1 of the PAO was already paid for with the contribution made, despite the fact that it was evident that a budget readjustment of up to $30,000 million was required to finish it.
The matter raised alarms in the two entities and in fact, in a press release issued by the Metropolitan Area entitled “The outgoing Metropolitan Area did not escape the alleged mismanagement of those who misgoverned Medellín”, item No. 9 appeared – on works in execution that need resources to be finished – the Bello Arts and Crafts Park.
“The outgoing Metropolitan Area (headed by Palacio) said: the PAO will be finished in December and the project resources are already in place. This was partially true because the $60 billion of the agreement had already been contributed, but they were aware that an extension of time and a budget addition were required. It was agreed that these resources were required and that mutual efforts were being made to guarantee them, but this was not achieved. That is why the surprise that the outgoing Area had considered that the project ended with financial closure in December, which is not the case,” explained Estefan Valencia Palacio, Secretary of Public Works of Bello.
According to Valencia, the current director of the Area, Paula Palacio Salazar, was also surprised when she was told in Bello that the PAO was still under construction. “The director was here 15 days ago, she saw the state of the project, she saw that there is no risk of leaving it as a white elephant, that it has a normal execution, but that it also requires these resources. That is why we are in the process of finding them,” Valencia added.