Peru creates infra authority amid expected El Niño threat

Peru’s congress authorized the creation of infrastructure authority Anin, which will oversee public works that exceed 200mn soles (US$55mn).

The approval comes amid a new threat posed by the El Niño climate phenomenon, which is expected to cause heatwaves and potential infrastructure damage.

Originally, Anin was planned to absorb reconstruction authority ARCC, created in 2017 after another climate phenomenon. While this option was discarded in the approved bill, lawmakers allowed the use of a supreme decree to combine both entities.

A combination may become necessary due to a lack of staff and to improve efficiency. The economy ministry is looking to step up technical hiring.

Anin will have to coordinate with strategic planning authority Ceplan regarding the 2050 national development plan, which also aims to streamline national, regional and local governance.

Congress extended the environmental evaluation period to 90 days, while the government wanted to reduce evaluation to 30 days.

Anin may contract firms under the NEC, FIDIC and government-to-government modalities and use special procedures to hire specialized technical assistance.