Why Colombia in 2026
Four kinds of project are keeping Colombian HVAC contractors busy: data centres around Bogotá, hospitals built to a new national infrastructure rule, transit and airport works, and ordinary commercial building in the big cities. None of them depends on a single event, which makes the demand steadier than a one-off megaproject.
Data centres west of Bogotá
ODATA, part of Aligned Data Centers, announced about USD 1.3 billion for two campuses in free trade zones just west of Bogotá: DC BG02 in the Zona Franca de Occidente at Mosquera (24 MW) and DC BG03 in the Zona Franca Metropolitana at Tenjo (120 MW), with first phases due in the second half of 2026. Colombian press reported in September 2026 that ProColombia had identified 55 data centre projects in the country, 46 of them already operating, most in the Bogotá area.
Be realistic about what a data hall needs. White space is often cooled by room or in-row units with little ductwork, but electrical rooms, battery rooms, generator halls, offices and smoke extract all need sheet metal, and the volumes are large on a 100 MW campus. Our data centre duct manufacturing guide covers the details.
Healthcare
In August 2025 the Ministry of Health issued Resolution 1633 of 2025, the new technical framework for the infrastructure and equipment of buildings used for health services. It replaces Resolution 4445 of 1996, is mandatory for new buildings of all public and private providers (IPS), and puts weight on seismic resistance and climate resilience. Bogotá's district health programme has also planned new public hospitals in Usme and Bosa and a replacement Santa Clara hospital. Operating theatres, isolation rooms and laboratories need tightly sealed, often stainless ductwork; see our cleanroom duct guide and galvanised vs stainless comparison.
Transit, airports and commercial building
- Bogotá Metro Line 1: a 23.9 km elevated line with 16 stations, 10 of them connected to TransMilenio. The city reported 83.73% overall progress in September 2026, with passenger-free integrated testing scheduled for September 2027. Stations, the depot and operations buildings all need ventilation and air conditioning.
- Metro de la 80, Medellín: just over 52% complete in mid-2026. Its San Germán station will be the first underground station of a mass transit system in Colombia. Operation depends on national funding arriving on time; the city has mentioned 2028.
- Barranquilla airport: the civil aviation authority is running works at Ernesto Cortissoz, including a new domestic baggage hall with air conditioning in the first package, while the ANI works on an updated airport master plan. Progress has been uneven, so treat it as a lead to follow, not a sure order book.
- Commercial and industrial: in the first half of 2026 Bogotá licensed 1,829,949 m² of construction, of which 398,533 m² (21.8%) was for non-residential uses, according to the city's housing observatory based on DANE data. Offices, retail, logistics warehouses and factories around Bogotá, Medellín and the Barranquilla area make up the everyday work of most duct shops.
Standards and codes for ductwork in Colombia
Colombia has no national duct construction standard that replaces the American documents. In practice a Colombian duct shop builds to what the mechanical engineer's specification names, and for sheet metal ductwork that is usually SMACNA, inside a framework of Colombian building, seismic, electrical and health regulations.
- SMACNA HVAC Duct Construction Standards: the usual reference for gauges, seams, transverse joints, reinforcement and hangers. Public project drawings cite it directly; for example, mechanical drawings for a Servicio Geológico Colombiano building reference SMACNA for duct reinforcement and hanger fixing. See our gauge chart and hangers and supports guide.
- ASHRAE: ventilation design in Colombia is commonly based on ASHRAE 62.1, and design teams on international projects add ASHRAE 90.1. These drive airflows and duct sizes rather than construction details.
- NSR-10: the Reglamento Colombiano de Construcción Sismo Resistente, issued by Decree 926 of 2010 and in force since 15 December 2010, with later amendments. Chapter A.9 covers non-structural elements, and public tenders require contractors to have their suppliers calculate non-structural elements and produce shop drawings to NSR-10. For a duct shop this means hanger and bracing details on seismic projects, and Title J sets fire protection requirements that affect dampers and penetrations.
- NTC standards (ICONTEC): Colombian technical standards. Galvanised steel is often specified to ASTM A653 or its Colombian counterpart, and local product datasheets cite NTC 4011 alongside ASTM A653. Check which document your client names before ordering coil.
- Resolution 0194 of 2025: from the Ministry of Housing, it replaced Resolution 0549 of 2015 and sets water and energy savings targets for new buildings, now including social housing. It pushes designers toward tighter, better insulated duct systems; our air leakage classes guide explains what that means for seams and sealing.
- Resolution 1633 of 2025: the health infrastructure framework described above, for hospital and clinic projects.
Importing duct machinery into Colombia
- IVA: imports pay value added tax at the general rate of 19%. Some goods are excluded or exempt, so confirm the treatment for your machine with your adviser.
- Customs duty (arancel): Colombia's general tariff levels are 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%. Duct forming and folding machines are usually classified under HS heading 8462, but the rate depends on the full 10-digit subheading, so ask your agencia de aduanas to classify the machine and confirm the rate. We do not quote a figure here.
- Steel tariff decree: in March 2026 Decree 264 raised duty to 35% for one year on 14 steel subheadings such as bars, profiles, wire and tubes from countries without a trade agreement with Colombia. Published summaries do not name machinery or flat galvanised coil, but have your broker check any steel accessories or coil you import with the machines.
- Special regimes: goods entering a free trade zone from abroad do not pay duty and IVA, or defer them until they enter the national customs territory. Plan Vallejo programmes and temporary import of capital goods listed under Decree 1446 of 2022 can suspend or defer duty for qualifying companies. Conditions apply, so check with a tax adviser before you order.
- RETIE: the technical regulation for electrical installations, updated by Resolution 40117 of 2024 and amended by Resolution 40284 of 2026. It covers electrical installations and a defined list of electrical products whose producers and importers must show conformity. Your workshop installation must comply in any case. We could not confirm that a duct machine as a whole is a listed product, so ask your broker or an accredited certification body whether any components need RETIE documents. Taokron machines are CE marked with a Declaration of Conformity and ship with electrical diagrams and component lists.
Colombia's main container ports are Cartagena and Barranquilla on the Caribbean and Buenaventura on the Pacific. Tell us the port nearest your workshop when you request a quotation. Our importing guide covers the general paperwork.
Power supply: 60 Hz, 220 V or 440 V three phase
Colombia's grid runs at 60 Hz. Single phase outlets are 110 to 120 V. Industrial three phase motors sold in Colombia are commonly 220/440 V dual voltage at 60 Hz, and most workshops are supplied at 220 V or 440 V. A machine built for 50 Hz will run at the wrong speed and its motors and drives may overheat, so measure the three phase voltage at your workshop and tell us; we wire the motors, drives and control transformer to suit. Distribution rules allow steady-state voltage to vary between 90% and 110% of nominal, so a stable supply matters for PLC-controlled lines.
One Colombian detail: Bogotá sits at about 2,600 m. Standard motor ratings assume installation up to 1,000 m, so tell us your altitude and we check motor, drive and hydraulic cooling margins. See also duct machine voltage and frequency by country.
Typical Colombian shop set-ups and the machines that fit
Contractor shop, rectangular duct for fit-outs
Many Colombian HVAC installers make their own duct in a small workshop. A practical set is a Rectangular Duct Line II SBAL-II or Auto Duct Line SBAL-III, a Pittsburgh lockformer (SBLC series), a TDF flange forming machine and a pneumatic folder. That covers straight duct, TDF joints and simple fittings with a small crew.
Volume shop for data centres, hospitals and transit
Shops chasing data centre and metro packages need output and consistent quality over thousands of square metres. The Auto Duct Line SBAL-V runs from coil to finished panel, a Plasma Cutter SBPC1550 cuts fittings from nested drawings, and a hydraulic folder handles heavier gauges and long bends.
Round duct
Spiral duct suits exposed ceilings, car parks, warehouses and industrial extract. The Spiral Tubeformer SBTF-1500 or SBTF-1602 forms round duct, and the Spiral Duct Flanging Machine SBFB-1600 turns flanges on round duct ends. For a real example, see Kavanagh Industries in Sydney, which added an SBTF-1602 in October 2026.
Hospital and industrial work
For stainless extract and heavier round duct, the stainless duct forming machine and the Automatic Stitchwelder SB-ZF1500 cover the seams that a lock cannot.
Labour and space
Colombia's monthly minimum wage for 2026 was set at COP 1,750,905, plus a transport allowance of COP 249,095, an increase of about 23% on 2025. The decree was suspended by the Council of State in February and reissued by the government at the same percentage, so check the current position with your payroll adviser. Skilled sheet metal workers and operators earn more. A rise of that size is a strong argument for automation: an auto duct line replaces much of the manual marking, cutting, notching and folding, so a small crew can supply several sites.
On space, the auto duct line is the longest item, with coil racks at one end and a run-out table at the other. Ask us for a layout drawing based on your building before you sign a lease, and leave room for coil deliveries, finished duct storage and truck loading. Location follows the work: the Sabana west of Bogotá (Mosquera, Funza, Tenjo) for data centres and logistics, the Aburrá valley for Medellín, and Barranquilla for the Caribbean coast. Our factory layout guide has worked examples.
Working with Taokron from Colombia
- Machines built since 1995 and supplied to 100+ countries, with 60+ patents, from an ISO 9001:2015 factory
- CE marked with a Declaration of Conformity
- Wired for your three phase 60 Hz supply
- Installation and commissioning quoted per engineer-day
- Replies within 12 hours by email at [email protected] or on WhatsApp at +61 435 074 994
Get a Colombia-ready Taokron quotation →
FAQ
Which ductwork standards are used in Colombia?
There is no separate Colombian duct construction code that replaces SMACNA. Mechanical engineers in Colombia commonly specify sheet metal ductwork to the SMACNA HVAC Duct Construction Standards for gauges, seams, joints, reinforcement and hangers, with ASHRAE references such as ASHRAE 62.1 used for ventilation design. Colombian regulations sit around that: NSR-10, the seismic building code, whose Chapter A.9 covers non-structural elements and is applied to duct hangers and bracing; RETIE for the electrical installation; Resolution 1633 of 2025 for health buildings; and Resolution 0194 of 2025 for water and energy savings in new buildings. Materials are often specified to ASTM or to the equivalent NTC standard from ICONTEC. Always build to the documents named in the project specification.
What voltage and frequency do duct machines need in Colombia?
Colombia's grid runs at 60 Hz. Single phase outlets are 110 to 120 V. Industrial three phase motors in Colombia are commonly 220/440 V dual voltage at 60 Hz, and workshops are usually supplied at 220 V or 440 V. A machine built for 50 Hz will not run correctly without changes, so tell us the three phase voltage measured at your workshop and we wire the motors, drives and control transformer to suit.
What taxes apply when importing duct machinery into Colombia?
Imports pay IVA at the general rate of 19%, plus customs duty (arancel) for the exact tariff line. Colombia's general tariff levels are 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%, and duct forming and folding machines usually fall under HS heading 8462, but the rate depends on the full 10-digit subheading, so ask your agencia de aduanas to confirm it before you budget. Special regimes such as free trade zones, Plan Vallejo and temporary import of listed capital goods can suspend or defer duty and IVA if your company qualifies.
Does RETIE apply to imported duct machines?
RETIE, the Colombian technical regulation for electrical installations, was updated by Resolution 40117 of 2024 and amended again by Resolution 40284 of 2026. It applies to electrical installations and to a defined list of electrical products, whose producers and importers must show conformity. Your workshop's electrical installation, from the supply to the machine isolators, must comply with RETIE in any case. We could not confirm that a duct forming machine as a whole is a listed RETIE product, so ask your customs broker or an accredited certification body whether any components need RETIE documents before the machine ships. Taokron machines are CE marked with a Declaration of Conformity and come with electrical diagrams and component lists.
Where is ductwork demand in Colombia coming from in 2026?
The main sources are data centres west of Bogotá, such as the two ODATA campuses in the Mosquera and Tenjo free zones; hospitals built under the new health infrastructure framework of Resolution 1633 of 2025; transit and airport work, including Bogotá Metro Line 1, Medellín's Metro de la 80 and works at Barranquilla's Ernesto Cortissoz airport; and commercial and industrial building in Bogotá, Medellín and Barranquilla.
Which machines should a new Colombian duct shop start with?
A contractor shop making rectangular duct for offices, shops and fit-outs usually starts with a rectangular duct line or auto duct line, a Pittsburgh lockformer, a TDF flange former and a folder. Add a spiral tubeformer when round duct becomes regular work, and a plasma table when fittings volume grows. Send your duct sizes, gauges and monthly output and a Taokron engineer will propose a machine set within 12 hours.
