High Level Reporting Mechanism for the Bogotá Metro project

Prevent corruption in public tenders related to the construction of Bogota’s first metro line

In August 2018, the Basel Institute on Governance and OECD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Colombian President and Mayor of Bogotá to promote collaboration in designing a High Level Report Mechanism (HLRM) for the construction of Bogotá’s first metro line.

Co-financed by central and local governments, the 25 km elevated metro line will transport around 650,000 passengers a day. The total cost of this major five-year infrastructure project is estimated at USD 4.1 billion.

The Transparency Secretariat has been working with the Metro Enterprise, a company set up for this project, and senior Bogotá officials to define and implement the HLRM. The selection process for the Panel of Experts took place in January 2019.

The HLRM is tailored to each situation, but bidders are always asked to agree to an Integrity Pact before participating in the tender process. This gives stakeholders a strong, early signal of the government’s commitment to a fair and open process. There is a significant deterrent effect.

The experts appointed to deal with issues raised via the HLRM were selected following an open call for tender. They come with backgrounds in criminal law, civil engineering and financial management. Crucially, they are independent from both the government and the companies bidding for contracts.

Alerts can be raised about unfair practices, a lack of clarity on technical aspects or any other issue negatively affecting the procurement process. During the 4G roads project, the HLRM was activated about a late modification to technical specifications that cut all but one bidder out of the competition. Working with the bidding companies, experts and government representatives, the HLRM resolved the issue within two weeks in a way that was acceptable to all sides.

The Colombian HLRM experts have also developed a matrix to help public authorities measure corruption risks in future tenders for public works.