According to Colombia’s infrastructure agency ANI and Bloomberg, Brazilian metals group Votorantim Metais Participacoes had plans to build the Carare railway to take coal mined in the Cundinamarca, Boyaca and Santander provinces to the coast. That work is being performed by truck at the moment.

ANI leader Luis Andrade told the news service the project did not make economic sense.

“They concluded it wasn’t economically viable for them,” Andrade said.

“There are doubts now because we don’t have clarity on the source of funds needed for the project.”

ANI projected that 12 million tonnes of coal annually were needed to keep Carare running, and that the region’s combined production was headed for that level over the coming decade from a current 2Mtpa.

Andrade said the agency had already commenced discussions with other potential investors for the rail project. Two of these include the governments of South Korea and Brazil.

Votorantim, which did not issue a public comment about the decision, owns met coal and iron ore miner Minas Paz del Rio.

Coal is Colombia’s second largest export after oil, and the country is the fourth-largest coal exporter worldwide.