LIMA, March 26 (NNN-ANDINA) — The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) launched the “Con Punche Peru Plan: Atencion a Emergencias (Attention to emergencies),” which includes a rapid execution of actions linked to prevention, infrastructure protection and resilience, on a national scale, in the face of the upcoming presence of a Coastal El Niño phenomenon.
In this regard, Economy-Finance Minister Alex Contreras specified that preventive and corrective maintenance works will be carried out on road, sanitation, educational, hospital, and healthcare center infrastructure, which will require an investment of S/1.50 billion (about US$398 million).
“The idea is to approve the reallocation of resources and assess all the necessary mechanisms to accelerate this spending starting at the next Council of Ministers (session),” Contreras said during a press conference.
The high-ranking official explained that the Executive Branch will create two investment windows. The first will be created between May and June, and the second between August and December.
“We have to act quickly; it is the commitment of all sectors,” he underlined.
The high-ranking official affirmed that financing worth S/1.5 billion will be carried out in the short term through reallocation of resources.
The economist explained that these resources will also finance river cleaning and strengthening works, which include river desilting and cleaning actions, temporary embankments by sections, and marginal protection strips against landslides and slippage of earth.
Afterwards, the minister announced that the Executive Branch will invest S/350 million (about US$93 million) in the purchase and maintenance of machinery such as tractors, dump trucks, backhoes, motor pumps, front loaders, among others.
“For these actions, the responsible sectors will be the Ministries of Housing, Construction, and Sanitation; Transportation and Communications; Agrarian Development and Irrigation; plus Defense,” he indicated.
In the same way, he revealed that, within this plan, the Government will expedite the participation of concessionaires for Public-Private Partnership projects. — NNN-ANDINA
