Peru Advances $2bn Electricity Project

The Electropampas/Pampas Verdes hydroelectric and irrigation project in Ayacucho, Peru is heard moving ahead with $2bn in project financing. “This is going to be one of the most important projects for Peru going forward,” Carlos Penny, president of financial advisor to the project, Pennynvest, tells LatinFinance. Long term financing should be in place over the next 16 months, he adds. “We are going to be working with the multilateral agencies, we have spoken to CAF – they are very interested,” says Penny, adding that the project managers are also talking to the IFC, IDB, OPIC and MIGA. “All these entities have been formally contacted and we have had conversations with some of the large international banks, particularly European,” says Penny. The four hydro plants will generate a combined 1,200MW and accumulate 1bn cubic meters of water. The project has been studied over the last 8 years by Switzerland’s Electrowatt. It has four sponsors: one Peruvian, one UK and two Swiss, and there are discussions to involve a major international electricity group. Penny declined to identify the parties involved. The project will take four years to build. Penny does not anticipate environmental issues since the areas to be irrigated are unpopulated. It will include a 36km tunnel connecting two lagoons, he adds. Given how long this project has been in the works, locals have been skeptical that it will see the light of day.