Peru seeking to accelerate post-flooding reconstruction

Peru's government plans to ramp up investment in transport and water infrastructure on the northern coast as the country struggles to recover from record flooding and landslides last year.

The government will award a contract in the coming week for the construction of a bridge in La Libertad region's Virú province, one of the hardest hit by the flooding, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said during a visit to La Libertad to inspect work on a 28mn-sol (US$8.5mn) project to shore up riverbanks along a 24km stretch of the Virú river.

The government has started a 26bn-sol (US$8bn) post-flooding reconstruction program following widespread destruction along the northern coast last March.

Widespread floods, torrential rains and landslides caused by the El Niño phenomenon left at least 163 dead and 291,000 homeless and caused billions in damage to roads, railways, power plants, schools and hospitals, according to the central bank.

Kuczynski, who also pledged to invest 100mn soles in potable water projects in Virú, said his government is committed to building 40,000 homes, most of which will be along the northern coast. To date, 1,000 homes have been completed, 227 of them in La Libertad.

"We're going to keep working every day throughout Peru," Kuczynski said in a statement. "We're going to work until everyone has potable water, a house and a paved road. Electricity and water are fundamental."

In other infrastructure news, the transport and communications ministry opened a 10km divided highway in Piura region, also on the north coast, according to a statement.

The 232mn-sol project built by concessionaire Covisol, which will benefit more than 1.8mn residents, includes the Grau (305m) and Panamericana (22m) bridges, drainage and two bypasses, the ministry said.

Protests have broken out in several parts of the country in recent weeks as a new round of flooding caused by this year's rainy season sparked criticism of the slow pace of the reconstruction efforts.