A Sustainable Asset Valuation of the Mass Rapid Transit System in Bogota, Colombia

This executive summary presents a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of Metro Line 1 of the Metro de Bogota Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. The analysis compares traditional benefit-cost ratios with a sustainable BCR (S-BCR) that accounts for environmental, social, and economic externalities, concluding that the MRT system provides substantial monetary benefits and societal value over a project period from 2022 to 2058.

• Metro Line 1 of the Metro de Bogota MRT is an elevated, fully automatic, and driverless system that represents the first modern metro in Colombia. It is designed to cover nearly 25 km and accommodate 1.05 million passengers daily (72,000 per hour in each direction), with stations expected to be within 1 km of 80% of the population by 2030. Construction began in 2020, with an expected operational date of 2028 and total investment costs of USD 5 billion.
• The MRT system is projected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with an estimated reduction of 938,000 tonnes by 2049. This is attributed to the system being 100% electric and encouraging a modal shift from private motorized transport to a cleaner public network.
• The SAVi assessment modeled two demand scenarios based on the modal shift from private transport to the MRT system. The conservative 8% shift scenario results in a cumulative discounted net benefit of COP 7,682 billion (USD 2,051 million), while the 16% shift scenario results in a cumulative discounted net benefit of COP 23,130 billion (USD 6,177 million) for the period 2022 to 2058.
• The most significant economic impact of the MRT is the increase in retail revenues around stations, driven by increased pedestrian traffic. In the 8% scenario, this amounts to COP 7,904 billion (USD 1,612 million), and in the 16% scenario, it reaches COP 15,897 billion (USD 3,243 million).
• Integrating sustainability impacts dramatically changes the project's valuation. While the traditional benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is 0.4 for the 8% scenario and 0.6 for the 16% scenario, the sustainable BCR (S-BCR)—which includes social and environmental benefits—increases to 1.5 and 1.9, respectively.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). A Sustainable Asset Valuation of the Mass Rapid Transit System in Bogota, Colombia. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-10/savi-mass-rapid-transit-system-bogota-colombia-summary.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. A Sustainable Asset Valuation of the Mass Rapid Transit System in Bogota, Colombia. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-10/savi-mass-rapid-transit-system-bogota-colombia-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=A Sustainable Asset Valuation of the Mass Rapid Transit System in Bogota, Colombia |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-10/savi-mass-rapid-transit-system-bogota-colombia-summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndsustainable, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{A Sustainable Asset Valuation of the Mass Rapid Transit System in Bogota, Colombia}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-10/savi-mass-rapid-transit-system-bogota-colombia-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }