The Government of Peru announced on Tuesday that it intends to promote railway projects that involve the construction of two train sections on the central coast with a global investment of more than US$10 billion, within the framework of the development of the Chanchay megaport that will be inaugurated soon.
When exposing the plan, the Minister of Transportation and Communications, Raúl Pérez, revealed to journalists during a visit to the port that the idea is to present the projects railways to foreign governments that have shown interest, including those of Canada, China, the United States, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.
The plan involves the construction of two railways: one of about 300 kilometers that will connect the capital, Lima, with the city of Ica to the south; and the other is 245 kilometers from Lima to the city of Barranca, to the north, Pérez said, in the district of Chancay, on the central Peruvian Pacific coast.
The Chancay megaport is controlled by the Chinese company Cosco Shipping Ports 1199.HK with a 60% stake. The rest is held by Peruvian miner Volcan VOLCABC1.LM, owned by Glencore GLEN.L.
Pérez did not provide further details on how the railways would serve the megaport. nor possible execution deadlines.
The railway section from Lima to Ica has an estimated cost of 5.5 billion dollars, while the section from Lima to Barranca It would cost about 18,000 million soles (about US$4,800 million), Minister Reyes explained.
“Two weeks ago we issued letters (of invitation) to the main governments that have railway infrastructure to express interest if they wish to participate in a government-to-government agreement,” he said. “We have more than six interested governments.”
Pérez affirmed that the Government plans to present the initiative on November 4 to potential interested parties, days before the leaders’ summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum to be held in Lima in the middle of next month.
The Chancay megaport is expected to will be inaugurated on November 14 by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will attend the Apec forum, according to sources from the Peruvian Foreign Ministry.
The transportation minister said that he hopes that the government that executes the Lima-Ica train will also develop the Lima-Barranca section. “We are going to choose the one that gives us not only the best technology but also the lowest (cost) financing,” Pérez said.
Pérez stated that the construction “in the long term” of a train that would link the Pacific coast with Brazilwhich has shown great interest in using Chancay as a gateway to China, with a saving of two weeks in the transportation of your products without going through the Panama Canal.
The port infrastructure has generated expectations from several countries in South America, which produces grains, meat and minerals.and has posed a challenge for the United States and Europe, which seek to stop the Chinese rise in Latin America.
