Peru plans infrastructure projects to complement Chancay 'megaport'

Peru’s Chancay ‘megaport’, a US$3.6bn project north of Lima, has been creating high expectations given its potential impact for both the private and public sectors. 

As a result, the government has identified projects that it will seek to unblock in the medium term to complement the project.

Currently, the first US$1.3bn phase of the port is due to be ready in November and reports general progress of 74%. 

The transport and communications ministry (MTC) has identified six projects – four for roads, a railway and a nearby port – for around US$350mn that it hopes to carry out in the coming years.

BNamericas reviews the proposed initiatives.

Improved road connections between Lima and Chancay – including the capital’s Jorge Chávez airport, a distance of 65km – will be a priority in the short term.

The ministry recently indicated that there are three works on the Panamericana Norte highway involving US$300mn that it will promote: an overpass for access to Chancay, the Chancay-Chancayllo bypass and new lanes on the Pasamayo road.

Added to these initiatives is another project to decongest traffic in the Peruvian capital and will connect with the port of Callao, namely improvements to Néstor Gambeta-Callao avenue. At the beginning of February, MTC head Raúl Pérez Reyes indicated that the almost 26km stretch – which crosses the districts of Callao, Ventanilla and Puente Piedra – will also be a short-term priority but no estimated cost has been revealed.

Regarding port infrastructure, another important project – and prioritized within the national sustainable infrastructure plan for competitiveness – is the construction of the Callao outer port, where work has not begun.

According to the economy and finance ministry (MEF), the project will have a cost of 163mn soles (US$44mn), an area of 20.8ha, and capacity to park 729 heavy goods vehicles. According to business association ComexPerú, construction is expected to take six months and the project will be put out to tender this month.

Finally, and with a medium to long-term construction horizon, the MTC seeks to promote the construction of a rail link between the capital and various provinces in Lima region such as Huaral, Huaura and Barranca. At the beginning of February, the ministry awarded the contract to the Ferrocarril del Norte consortium to develop the pre-investment study for what is known as the Lima-Barranca railway.

According to the initial profile of the project, the section will have a length of 245km and will transport both passengers and cargo, and, according to the minister, works are expected to be completed in 2029. Although there is still no estimated capex, the cost of the pre-investment study – evaluation of a public investment project and verifying its feasibility – amounts to 36.3mn soles, according to the ministry.