Cooperation that strengthens sustainability: Mutual Aid Plan in PIMSA

The Malambo Industrial Park (PIMSA) is advancing as a national benchmark for sustainability and responsible management. Its Mutual Aid Plan (PAM) is a cooperation model involving more than 30 companies to prevent and respond to emergencies in a coordinated way—strengthening industrial safety and a preventive culture across the park.

PIMSA—Colombia’s first authorized industrial park, with 250 hectares and more than 3,800 direct jobs—integrates the PAM as part of its strategy for competitiveness and territorial resilience.

What is the Mutual Aid Plan?

It is a business alliance that optimizes technical and human resources for prevention, preparedness and emergency response when incidents exceed the capacity of a single company. The PAM brings together companies from sectors such as food, logistics, wood, manufacturing, port/harbor operations, chemicals and metallurgy, among others, under shared protocols and ongoing coordination.

Objective and scope

• Prevention: ongoing training and a safety culture within plants.

• Preparedness: standardized operating procedures, inventories, and regular drills.

• Response: coordinated activation, shared equipment and real-time communication, prioritizing protection of life, the environment and assets.

Installed capacities and resources

The PAM includes a local communications network, a centralized emergency-equipment inventory, and an annual budget allocation (COP 25 million; approx. USD 6,700), strengthening resilience and response capacity. To date, more than 397 brigadistas (emergency responders) have been trained, with drills, training, and equipment provision as core pillars of the system.

Priority risks and measures implemented

The plan covers threats such as fires, spills, explosions and toxic clouds, and includes:

• Standardized protocols (procedures and roles).

• Intra- and inter-company training and drills.

• Available equipment and radios for immediate response.

Governance, timeline and status

• Location: Malambo, Barranquilla area.

• Start date: 2019.

• Status: Ongoing.

• Management approach: risk management, coordination with companies and emergency agencies, and community engagement.

Contribution to national standards

The PAM supports compliance with NTC 6720 (Eco-Industrial Parks — Sustainability Requirements), aligning park management with good practices and continuous improvement in industrial safety and environmental performance.

Cooperation that makes it possible

This progress is developed with the leadership of UNIDO, MINCIT, and funding from the Embassy of Switzerland in Colombia – SECO, enabling technical assistance, policy alignment, and resources to consolidate a robust and sustainable eco-industrial park.