The structurers defining the new infrastructure cycle in Antioquia and Peru

A cycle led by concrete profiles

Latin American infrastructure is undergoing a phase of institutional redefinition. Major investment plans in transportation, road networks, and urban development no longer depend exclusively on regulatory frameworks or political will. They increasingly depend on the structurers who translate public policy into executable projects. In Antioquia, Tomás Elejalde's leadership at the helm of the Medellín Metro establishes a model of a public enterprise with a vocation for comprehensive urban development. In Peru, figures such as Paola Lazarte and Verónica Zambrano are driving a public-private partnership (PPP) ecosystem that aspires to close historical connectivity gaps. In Mexico, the expansion of Tania Carro Toledo's competencies as head of the Undersecretariat of Communications and Transportation confirms a regional trend: the consolidation of structuring functions in the hands of technical leaders with execution capacity.

This article analyzes the models these four profiles represent and the strategic implications for private capital, contractors, and operators seeking to position themselves in the next cycle of concessions and infrastructure projects in Latin America.

What structuring model does Tomás Elejalde represent from the Medellín Metro?

Tomás Elejalde leads one of the most significant public transportation companies in Latin America. The Medellín Metro carries 310 million passengers per year, according to pre-pandemic figures reported by Cosmovision, and constitutes the backbone of mobility in the Aburrá Valley. But Elejalde's role transcends the operation of the mass transit system. His management articulates an urban development vision that integrates mobility infrastructure with land transformation.

The development plan Elejalde is driving envisions a shopping center and 40 real estate projects around the transportation system, with a horizon toward 2050, according to statements by Elejalde himself as reported by Cosmovision. This land value capture strategy transforms the Medellín Metro into more than a transportation operator: it positions it as a city structurer.

The Antioquia model presents, however, significant financial tensions. The national government owes the Medellín Metro more than $400 billion pesos for the Metro de la 80 project, according to the same source. This debt reflects a structural challenge: public enterprises leading the structuring of transformative projects depend on intergovernmental transfers that do not always arrive on the required timelines. Elejalde's ability to manage that fiscal relationship with the central government will largely determine the viability of Medellín's ambitious infrastructure pipeline.

Antioquia's contractor ecosystem is closely watching these dynamics. The Tren del Río and Metro de la 80 projects represent participation opportunities for local and international engineering and construction firms, but uncertainty over public financing flows introduces a risk factor that private investors must carefully weigh.

Elejalde's leadership demonstrates that public transportation companies can function as platforms for comprehensive urban development, provided they resolve the financing equation with national governments.

How does the Peruvian structuring model led by Paola Lazarte and Verónica Zambrano operate?

The Peruvian infrastructure model rests on an institutional framework different from Antioquia's. ProInversión, the private investment promotion agency, serves as the central structurer, while Ositrán oversees transportation infrastructure concessions. Two key figures connect both institutional spaces with the market: Paola Lazarte and Verónica Zambrano.

During her tenure leading the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Paola Lazarte drove a project portfolio through ProInversión worth nearly US$4 billion, which included the Anillo Vial Periférico and the Longitudinal de la Sierra Tramo 4, according to information published by El Peruano in May 2023. This volume of projects positioned Lazarte as one of the most influential structurers in Peru's recent PPP cycle.

Lazarte's trajectory after leaving the ministry confirms her role as a sectoral reference. At PROINVEST 2024, 64 investment initiatives were presented under the Asset-Based Projects modality with high social impact, benefiting six regions of the country, according to information from Lazarte Consulting. This modality of projects linked to existing assets represents an evolution of the Peruvian PPP model, which seeks to attract private capital for the operation and maintenance of already-built infrastructure, complementing the awarding of new construction.

Peru is shifting from a model centered on building new infrastructure toward one that also prioritizes the conservation and efficient operation of existing assets through PPPs.

This trend deepens with the prospect of ProInversión awarding a conservation package covering 5,000 kilometers of highways to convert them into operation and maintenance PPPs, according to information from Revista Internacional Construir y Gestión, with a timeline from 2026 onward. For international road operators, this pipeline represents an entry opportunity into the Peruvian market without the complexity of greenfield construction.

Verónica Zambrano completes the institutional triangle from the regulatory side. Appointed as chair of the Ositrán Board of Directors through Supreme Resolution No. 060-2023-PCM, Zambrano leads the supervisory body that monitors compliance with transportation infrastructure concession contracts. Her five-year term, extending through 2027, provides regulatory continuity in a historically volatile Peruvian political context.

The combination of a structurer with ministerial experience like Lazarte and a regulator with a stable mandate like Zambrano creates a more predictable institutional environment for private investors. GRI Institute participants evaluating opportunities in the Peruvian market find in these profiles concrete reference points for understanding the sector's decision-making architecture.

What does the expansion of Tania Carro Toledo's competencies signal for infrastructure in Mexico?

The Mexican case adds a third dimension to the regional analysis. The administrative agreement published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on May 8, 2025, delegated new powers to the Undersecretariat of Communications and Transportation, led by Tania Carro Toledo. The new competencies cover urban infrastructure, public transportation, and solid waste management, derived from reforms to the Organic Law of Federal Public Administration in November 2024.

This expansion of functions is significant because it consolidates within a single undersecretariat capabilities that were previously dispersed across different agencies. For the private infrastructure sector, the concentration of competencies around Carro Toledo simplifies institutional dialogue and potentially accelerates the structuring processes for urban projects.

The Latin American trend points toward consolidating structuring functions under technical leaders capable of integrating transportation, urban development, and sustainability into a single agenda.

The presence of women in strategic infrastructure structuring and regulatory positions in the Andean region and Mexico is a distinctive feature of the current cycle. Lazarte, Zambrano, and Carro Toledo occupy spaces historically dominated by male profiles, and they do so in roles with direct influence over investment portfolios worth billions of dollars.

Two models, one shared need for private capital

The contrast between Antioquia and Peru reveals two complementary approaches to infrastructure structuring. In Medellín, the public enterprise acts as a direct structurer, integrating transportation and real estate development under a single institutional umbrella. In Lima, the state structures through specialized agencies like ProInversión and regulates through Ositrán, delegating execution and operation to the private sector through PPPs.

Both models share a fundamental need: private capital willing to commit to long investment horizons in institutional contexts that are still maturing. The contractors, operators, and infrastructure funds participating in GRI Institute events and analyses recognize that understanding the profiles of individual structurers is as important as analyzing regulatory frameworks. Investment decisions in Latin American infrastructure are ultimately made at the intersection of public policy, technical capacity, and institutional relationships.

The next infrastructure cycle in the Andean region and Colombia will be shaped by these leaders' ability to close the gap between announced project portfolios and effective execution. For Elejalde, the challenge is financial: resolving the national government's debt to the Medellín Metro and advancing the urban development plan. For Lazarte and Zambrano, the challenge is institutional: maintaining the credibility of the Peruvian PPP model in a shifting political environment. For Carro Toledo, the test will be operational: demonstrating that the concentration of competencies translates into structured and awarded projects.

The GRI Institute will continue monitoring the evolution of these structuring models through its sectoral events and analytical publications, providing its members with direct access to the actors defining the rules of the game in Latin American infrastructure.