Large-scale Amazon Waterway project is set to benefit more than 1 million citizens in northeastern Peru, Transport and Communications Minister Bruno Giuffra affirmed on Thursday.
Addressing the initiative's recent awarding, the government official noted the
waterway is part of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski administration's communication and transport
gap-closing policy.
In a release, the Transport and Communications Ministry explained riverflows tend to decrease in July-October, hindering freight and passenger vessels' transit, thus increasing travel times and transport fares.
The Amazon Waterway will put an end to this issue by reinforcing the region's navigation system, providing safe and efficient conditions for vessels to sail 365 days a year.
This way, the venture will facilitate inland water transportation among the cities of Pucallpa (Ucayali region), Iquitos, Yurimaguas and Saramiriza (Loreto region), as well as the border with Brazil, thus boosting communication and trade with coastal and highland regions.
The Amazon Waterway project was awarded this morning to Hidrovia II, a consortium composed of Chinese State-owned
hydropower company Sinohydro and Peruvian construction firm Construccion y Administracion S.A. (Casa).
The waterway will demand an investment of around US$95 million. It is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project to be executed as a 20-year co-financed concession.
The awarding ceremony also saw the presence of First Vice-President Martin Vizcarra, Ministers Fernando Zavala (Prime and Finance), Gonzalo Tamayo (Energy and Mines) and State-run Private Investment Promotion Agency (ProInversion) Executive Director Alvaro Quijandria.
(END) NDP/JJN/DHT/MVB