Peru sets timetable for coastal railway, airports

Peru's government mapped out a timetable for key transport infrastructure projects including the coastal railway and eight regional airports.

Companies may present proposals from April 1-May 15 for the 30-year concessions, to be managed as private co-financed initiatives (IPC), said Alberto Ñecco, head of state investment promotion agency Proinversión.

The 324km Lima-Ica railway, which will feature 44km of tunnels and 50km of bridges and viaducts, will cost US$3.26bn, according to an agency presentation. The project has been shortened from an earlier proposal for a US$5bn, 476km Barranca-Lima-Ica line.

Running at 200km/h connecting Lima to Ica in take three hours, the railway, must link up with the Lima metro and the ports of Callao and Pisco, according to the agency.

"The Lima-Ica railway and the group of airports are two megaprojects that will without a doubt help reduce the country's existing gap in connectivity and integration," Ñecco said at an event in Lima. "We will do this efficiently and within the established timeframe."

"The railway is a very long-term project that will see several governments come and go," Bruno Bueno, head of Latin American operations at UK investment bank Fieldstone, told BNamericas on the sidelines of the event. "It will require political will to keep it going and overcome issues such as social conflicts and permitting."

Airports

Regional airports in Jauja, Huánuco, Jaén, Ilo, Chimbote, Rioja, Tingo María and Yurimaguas will receive upgrades for US$600mn. Works include passenger terminals, control towers, navigation systems, runways, tarmac and carparks, the agency said.

Relevant processes will develop in in five stages - planning, formulation, structuring, transaction and execution. Proinversión's project director Gustavo Ibargüen said the first three stages alone will take about two years. He added that the transport and communications ministry can't provide co-financing for the airports until 2024, while the railway won't see government funding until 2026.