Peru region needs U$175mn for irrigation infra repairs

Peru's northern Lambayeque region needs 577mn soles (U$175mn) to repair damaged irrigation infrastructure following this year's record flooding, a government official said, according to state news agency Andina.

Flooding damaged dams, irrigation canals, drains, intake systems and riverbank reinforcement infrastructure in the Chancay, Zaña, La Leche, Motupe and Olmos valleys, said Lambayeque agriculture head Ricardo Romero. Work is also needed to reroute rivers and clear riverbeds, he said.

Rain-swollen rivers and landslides caused by the El Niño phenomenon left 145 dead nationwide and 235,000 homeless and caused over US$3bn in damage to water and power plants, schools, hospitals, housing, bridges, railroads and roads, according to the central bank. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has set a long-term price tag of US$9bn for the resettlement and reconstruction of communities.

The regional government has sent the budget to the central government to be included in a US$3bn reconstruction program scheduled for publication in August, Rentería said.

In other water infrastructure news, the government allocated the first 110mn soles to 10 municipal water companies known as EPSs, part of a total 440mn-sol bailout for EPSs nationwide, Kuczynski said.

Peru's municipal utilities, which provide services for 63% of the country's population, are generally bankrupt as they charge for just 40-45% of potable water used and lack qualified personnel, said the president, who traveled to Europe this week to drum up investment in water infrastructure projects.

Kuczynski has pledged to extend potable water and sewerage services to 100% of Peru's 30mn population by 2023. The government would like to bring the date forward to 2021, when Peru celebrates 200 years of independence from Spain, he said.

"This task won't be easy, because there will be frustration," Kuczynski said in a statement. "It's an ambitious goal, but we have to work towards it."

The government has invested 2.650bn soles in potable water and sewerage projects since Kuczynski's term started last July, according to the housing and construction ministry.

The investment has linked 127,000 families to potable water services and provided 133,000 families with sewerage connections, housing and construction minister Edmer Trujillo said in a statement.