Iñigo de la Serna visits works on Line 2 of underground system in Lima, a project headed up by Spanish companies

This visit is framed within the trip by Íñigo de la Serna to Peru to support the participation of Spanish companies in major infrastructure and transport projects in that country.

The contract for these works includes the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of Line 2 of the underground system in Lima and a branch line of Line 4 that will extend to the airport, and amounts to a total investment of more than 3.9 billion euros. In total, 35 underground railway stations will be built through a distance of 35 kilometres of tunnels that will cover the east-west axis of Lima from Ate to Callao.

This is one of the largest infrastructure works awarded to Spanish companies overseas, together with the Panama Canal, the high-speed railway line to Mecca and the Riyadh underground system, and one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the history of Peru.

Characteristics of the project

Line 2 includes a 26.87-kilometre long underground railway corridor from east to west with 27 stations and an estimated travel time of 45 minutes between the Port of Callao and the town of Ate (this trip currently takes 2 hours and 30 minutes on public transport). In principle, it is expected to carry some 660,000 passengers a day, with a future projection to rise to 1.2 million journeys a day.

This underground line will genuinely transform urban travel in the Peruvian capital, since many areas above ground where the new line runs will become green areas. Furthermore, this form of transport is sustainable, with 0% of polluting gases since the supply is made by electricity.

The model used for this project was a public-private association (Spanish acronym: APP).

Other infrastructure projects undertaken by the Government of Peru

As part of the new infrastructure of the underground system in Lima, the concession of the design, financing, construction, provision of electro-mechanical maintenance, acquisition of rolling stock, operation and maintenance of Line 3, as well as the concession of Line are also due to be awarded shortly.

Other railway infrastructure projects undertaken by the Government of Peru include the trans-Andean tunnel in the centre of Peru and the Interoceanic Railway, a line that will run through another four countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay).

The government is also involved in projects to improve airport infrastructure and construction.

Non official translation