The Japanese government could fully assume the execution of the Majes Siguas project, that is, take charge of Majes I, II and III. This was announced yesterday by the regional governor of Arequipa, Rohel Sánchez, after the Minister of Development AJapanese Government would take charge of the Majes I, II and IIIgrario y Irrigation project, Ángel Manero Campos and the ambassador of Japan in Peru, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi signed the State-to-State contract for the rehabilitation of the Majes Siguas I water system and the expansion of the irrigation for Majes III.
To date, Majes I and III are under the responsibility of the Japanese government through the Majes Siguas PMO Consortium, which will be in charge of providing technical assistance. However, Majes II faces international arbitration with the contractor Cobra before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) from October 2024.
According to the governor, there are two possibilities to unblock this phase of the agroindustrial project, which seeks to irrigate 38,000 hectares. The first option is to wait for a third company to acquire or absorb Cobra, which, according to Sánchez, could end the arbitration. However, this solution would not be entirely clear, since the new company would assume both assets and liabilities. This option would take place within one or two weeks.
If this alternative does not materialize, the second proposal consists of signing an addendum with the PMO Majes Siguas Consortium to take charge of the project while the arbitration continues. Sánchez assured that a dialogue has already begun and that the Japanese government would be willing to assume this responsibility.
CONTRACT
In the ceremony held in Cerro Juli, the Midagri contract with the director of the PMO Consortium Majes SiguasHaruhiko Kanai, who will be in charge of the specialized technical assistance for the repair and automation of the irrigation system. According to the consortium’s intervention plan, a diagnosis and information gathering will be carried out from the following weeks until March 2026.
The rehabilitation of the water infrastructure in Majes I includes the repair of 88 kilometers of tunnels and 13 kilometers of irrigation canals that go from the Colca River to the Majes pampa. In addition, there will be carried out repair of the Condoroma damas well as the Tuti intakes in Caylloma and Pitay in Santa Isabel de Siguas. The objective is to optimize the system to transfer a maximum of 34 m³/s of water, to irrigate the 23 thousand hectares initially projected, but to date only 16 thousand hectares are irrigated.
Majes III plans to expand the irrigation system to cover an additional 23 thousand hectaresand by assuming responsibility for the three phases of Majes Siguas, the Japanese government would optimize irrigation for a total of 84,500 hectares of cultivation.
AMBASSADOR
The Japanese ambassador to Peru, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, highlighted in his speech that Majes is the second project in which his government works under the State-to-State modality. He highlighted the notable growth of Peru’s agricultural exports, which have doubled every eight years, going from 2,184 million dollars in 2008AreqaAAAAa to 5,564 million in 2016, and projecting to reach 24,000 million by 2032.
Tsuyoshi highlighted that the agricultural sector is consolidating itself as the main engine of growth, and Peruvian products such as avocado, grapes and asparagus are already present in the Japanese market.
