Reconstruction works of infrastructure damaged by landslides and floods will take between 2 to 3 years, Peru's First Vice-President Martin Vizcarra projected on Monday.
The also Transport and Communications Minister explained works must follow proceedings set by the public administration, and infrastructure cannot be built until corresponding studies are carried out.
"I cannot do it [reconstruction works] directly; there is procurement to be done. The study alone takes 6-8 months," he told RPP radio and TV station.
In this respect, the government official said post-disaster works will prioritize key areas such as school restoration.
Under this premise, Vizcarra disagreed with those who claim reconstruction works can be done in a year.
"It will take at least 2-3 years to do it right," he stressed.
He noted one of the first steps will be quantifying the necessary investment to recover all infrastructure lost.
"We should have that [information] in April. We [the ministerial cabinet] have been requested a first estimate for the next Council of Ministers session," he said.
Such estimate will comprise "rough figures," as there is "much fine-tuning to be done before reaching exact amounts that are not open to misrepresentation."
Regarding economists' projections, the Vice-President suggested waiting for official figures, since each sector has its own costs centers.
Likewise, he said mapping will be required to calculate the value of damages over the next two weeks.
On the other hand, Vizcarra highlighted the coordination deployed by the government through State ministers, who continue to work non-stop on affected regions.
He noted that, while government presence in emergency areas is suitable at the time, ministers will have to go back to focusing on their corresponding fields once the situation dissipates.
(END) VVS/CCR/DHT/MVB
Published: 3/27/2017