Support for rail development in Peru

(Lima, July 17, 2012). CAF - development bank of Latin America - and the Peruvian Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) today introduced the "Railway Appraisal Methodology," a study on building institutional capacity in a sector vital for the development of the country's infrastructure, introducing an important tool for the economic and financial assessment of potential railway lines in Peru.

The methodology was presented during the event opened by Deputy Transport Minister Alexander Chang and CAF Infrastructure Vice President Antonio Juan Sosa. The study was prepared under a technical cooperation agreement by the international consultancy LIBRA Ingenieros Consultores.

As part of the technical cooperation, a series of workshops and working sessions were held to report on the progress of the study and train the Ministry technical staff who will be responsible for this type of analysis.

Chang said the methodology developed with CAF support showed very clearly, step by step, the criteria and considerations to be considered in a preliminary economic and technical appraisal of the potential railway lines identified by the ministry.

He added that the ministry had decided to implement multimodal transport planning and place all transport infrastructure - ports, airports, roads and railways - under a single department in an effort to improve management of roads and means of transport in the country.

The CAF Vice President said that improving the capacity of railroads to carry merchandise was an important factor in the development of the countries of the region. With the methodological study presented, Peru has become a leading country in Latin America in the use of an appraisal instrument for rail projects, making a decisive contribution to strengthening the planning process and improving decision-making for investments.