Problems of transporting solid bulk along the Magdalena River in Colombia

Abstract

The Magdalena waterway, due to its navigability and geospatial location, constitutes a space for the articulation of potentialities in the value chain for the economic development of Colombia. For this reason, this article has the objective of executing a balance of the conditions of solid bulk transport by the Magdalena River, supported by a synchromodal network of product mobilization whose scope foresees taking advantage of the advantages offered by the fluvial and maritime port infrastructure. It is a bibliographical research, of a hermeneutic, diachronic type, configured from the deductive rationalist approach. He stresses that four determining situations must be overcome: the deepening of the river to allow the navigation of medium-sized ships and joint systems of barges propelled with tugboats; improve bulk storage and handling logistics in river ports; Also, synchronization of multimodal transport systems, finally, improve the operational efficiency of management to reduce the costs of operations. It concludes that techniques for the efficient management of water resources should be addressed in order to take advantage of the multiple opportunities that fluvial communication presents for the transport of products; a situation that allows the social, industrial and commercial development of the country.