Decree 1529 of October 14, 2026, amends significant aspects of Colombia’s port concession framework. Its scope extends beyond the recognition of unrecovered investments at the end of concession contracts: it also changes how new applications are structured, how adjacent private land is treated, the procedures for contract amendments, and the disclosure of administrative proceedings.
For applicants, concessionaires, and investors, these rules require an assessment from the outset of which investments form part of the project, which assets will be subject to transfer to the State (reversión), and under what conditions third parties may participate. Below, we present the principal changes in three groups, emphasizing their practical implications.
1. Applications and Awards of New Concessions
Connectivity Becomes an Express Component of Project Structuring
Article 5 expands the technical and financial requirements for applications and allows the inclusion of investments necessary for the terminal’s functional connectivity, including investments outside the areas covered by the concession. These may include road, rail, maritime, and inland waterway access infrastructure, as well as Specialized Logistics Infrastructure (Infraestructuras Logísticas Especializadas, or ILE), provided they are justified in the connectivity plan.
Their inclusion must be reflected in the project’s economic and financial structure and, where appropriate, in the determination of the concession term. It does not, by itself, bring external infrastructure within the scope of the concession. For works subject to the common-benefit cost-sharing framework, the decree limits recognition to the share actually funded by the concessionaire, excluding contributions from other beneficiaries and public funds.
Adjacent Private Land: A Choice with Property Implications
Applicants may, at their sole discretion, include privately owned land within the Adjacent Service Area required for the project in the investment plan, supported by the corresponding appraisal. Choosing not to include that land is not grounds for rejecting the application.
The decision has an express consequence: any land included will be subject to transfer to the State (reversión) at the end of the initial concession term and will then become State-owned property classified under Colombian law as bienes fiscales. The Ministry of Transportation must establish, among other matters, appraisal requirements, acceptable legal instruments demonstrating the land’s availability for the project, and methodologies for value recovery, transfer to the State (reversión), and subsequent concession payments.
In our view, this option requires a coordinated assessment of the financial model, land ownership and availability, financing security arrangements, and the effects of the eventual transfer to the State. Voluntary inclusion must be an informed decision made during project structuring.
Evaluation, Participation, and Award Conditions
Articles 7 and 9 govern competing proposals and their evaluation. The security supporting a competing proposal must equal 3% of the value of that proposal’s own investment plan and remain valid for two years. The decree provides for preferential scoring of strategic social and environmental commitments and investments that exceed mandatory obligations and generate verifiable benefits.
The evaluation report is subject to a five-business-day comment period. The original applicant retains priority in the event of a tie and a one-time opportunity to match or improve upon a higher-ranked competing proposal within fifteen business days. The evaluation methodology and formulas will be established through implementing regulations.
In addition, Article 12 requires compliance with the prescribed conditions before the concession is formally awarded, including obtaining the environmental license and any other environmental and social permits or administrative approvals required as prerequisites. The concession evaluation does not replace the authority of environmental agencies or the Ministry of the Interior.
2. Amendments to Executed Concession Contracts
Competing Proposals in Connection with Material Amendments
Article 15 establishes a procedure allowing objections and competing proposals to be submitted during the two months following publication of the notice of intent to make a material amendment. Competing proposals must satisfy the applicable requirements and concern the same areas covered by the concession.
The decree protects the concessionaire’s private assets: competing proposals may not encompass assets owned by the concessionaire, except for adjacent private land voluntarily included in the investment plan under the circumstances specified in the decree. The option to include such land expressly extends to applications for material amendments.
The procedure also provides for evaluation reports, comments, priority for the incumbent in the event of a tie, and an opportunity to match or improve upon a higher-ranked competing proposal. If a competing proposal is approved, the existing contract remains in effect until its term expires; the new contract begins after the transfer to the State (reversión), approval of the required security, and execution of the commencement certificate. Approval of a competing proposal therefore does not result in the immediate replacement of the concessionaire.
Nonmaterial Amendments: A Streamlined Procedure That Still Requires Evaluation
Paragraph 3 of the amended provision states that nonmaterial contract amendments must follow the same procedure, subject to express exceptions concerning the notice of intent, public hearing, notification of interested third parties, and submission of competing proposals.
These exceptions do not make approval automatic or eliminate the need for technical, legal, economic, and financial justification. Nor should they be extended without a legal basis to changes in applications that remain at the precontractual stage.
3. Disclosure and Creation of RUCOP
Article 4 creates the Unified Port Concession Registry—RUCOP, by its Spanish acronym—administered by the Ministry of Transportation. It will consolidate information on maritime and river port concessions from application through award, performance, amendment, termination, transfer to the State (reversión), and final settlement.
The registry preserves protections for classified or legally restricted information, including financial models and commercial, industrial, or financial information protected under Law 1712 of 2014. Its creation does not automatically displace disclosure obligations under SECOP, Colombia’s Electronic Public Procurement System: the decree expressly provides for coordination with that platform.
Articles 6 and 15 specify notification requirements for identified third parties, including neighboring property owners and, under the prescribed conditions and once RUCOP becomes operational, concession holders in the same port area. Notification is the responsibility of the granting authority; its failure to provide notice is not attributable to the applicant as grounds for rejecting the application. The provision allows the omission to be remedied before a decision is issued.
Until the registry becomes operational, granting authorities must continue publishing information on their own platforms. Future centralization requires a distinction between RUCOP’s legal establishment, its operational launch, and the point at which specific requirements dependent on it become enforceable.
The Transition Matters as Much as the New Rules
Articles 18 and 19 require a review of each pending proceeding. The Ministry has six months from the decree’s effective date to issue the implementing resolutions. Provisions dependent on those resolutions will become enforceable only when the resolutions take effect; the remaining provisions will apply in accordance with the transitional rules.
For pending concession applications and applications for material amendments, the decree retains the legislation in effect when the proceeding began as the starting point, but requires remaining stages to be brought into compliance with the new rules if the public hearing has not yet taken place, while preserving the validity of prior procedural steps. Identifying the filing date is therefore insufficient: the stage reached and any dependence on implementing regulations must also be established.
Decree 1529 provides important tools for structuring port projects and increasing procedural transparency. Its implementation will require careful decisions concerning the scope of investments, the ultimate disposition of assets, and the conditions to assure free competition. That review should take place before an application is filed or an amendment is sought, while there is still an opportunity to anticipate the legal and financial consequences.
Legal references: Decree 1529 of October 14, 2026, Articles 4–9, 12, 15, 17, 18, and 19; Law 1 of 1991. This article complements our analysis of Port Modernization Investments.