Peru to invest US$300mn in Lima water projects

Peru's government plans to invest 1.03bn soles (US$300mn) in water and sewerage projects in three of Lima's poorest districts as part of President Ollanta Humala's drive to increase investment in water and sewerage infrastructure in his final year in office.

The Esquema 300-Nueva Rinconada project, delayed since 2008, will benefit 500,000 residents in the districts of Villa María del Triunfo, San Juan de Miraflores and Villa El Salvador, housing and construction minister Francisco Dumler said. The project to build reservoirs and upgrade existing pipelines was declared viable by the finance ministry, Dumler said in a broadcast ceremony.

The project will build 27 reservoirs, upgrade 22 reservoirs and 262.6km of potable water pipelines, install pumps, cisterns and 286km of new pipelines, according to the ministry. Investment will also include 34,553 new domestic connections and the repair of 29,107 existing connections, in addition to replacing 39,024 water meters.

Sewerage investment will include 16.6km of new main pipelines, five pumps, 285.7km of secondary piping, the repair of another 147km, as well as the installation of 34,553 connections and repair of 17,576 existing ones.

Peru's government plans to invest 2.32bn soles (US$715mn) in potable water and sewerage projects in 2016, as part of the housing and construction ministry's 4.7bn-sol budget.

President Humala's government has invested a total 8.43bn soles (US$2.55bn) in 1,992 water projects since taking office in July 2011, according to the housing ministry. Humala plans to increase the 2016 budget by 6.6% to 138bn soles (US$42bn), including an additional 12.2% in infrastructure spending.

INFRASTRUCTURE

In other infrastructure news, Peru's education ministry laid the cornerstone for a 45mn-sol project in Uacayali region to repair 10 schools in the Amazon jungle, construction firm ICCGSA, the main contractor for the project, said in a statement.

Schools will be upgraded in Ucayali, Pucallpa, Junín, Loreto, Madre de Dios and San Martín to help prevent damage from flooding, said the firm, which formed a JV with construction company Multitainer. Peru is bracing for the expected worsening of the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon in early 2016.

Humala, who is scheduled to step down in July 2016 following general elections in April, has awarded a record US$20bn in public-private partnership projects since 2011.