In one of the last acts of her administration, on September 16 of this year, the former president Dina Boluarte inaugurated a canal in the Huaycoloro ravine, in the district of Lurigancho (Chosica), intended to protect 30 thousand residents from the frequent overflows and floods that occur virtually every year. According to the contract, initially estimated at S/320 millionthe work should have been completed on October 27, 2024. Not only was the delivery date missed (it took 12 more months) but the project ended up costing S/740 million. That is, 131% more than the original amount. It is an additional S/419 million, which means much more than double the budget awarded.
The cost overrun had the approval of the previous Boluarte government.
The National Infrastructure Authority (ANIN) granted the execution of the million-dollar infrastructure to the British Embassy through the government-to-government modality. In turn, Great Britain awarded the project to the company China International Water & Electric Corp., Peru branch.
The Chinese contractor received the work “Comprehensive Solution of the Huaycoloro Creek” from the ANIN, on May 16, 2022, and was given 895 days to complete it. He The amount was agreed at S/320,128,339. But this number grew enormouslyin addition to reporting changes in the completion of the infrastructure, despite the fact that the contract indicates that it is an emergency project.
Increasing costs with inflator
In a first audit carried out by the Comptroller’s Office, it drew attention precisely to the increase in the project. According to the report of December 11, 2024, it was detected that There was an “update”: from S/320,128,339 the work went to S/586,414,410 (an additional S/266,286,071 in relation to the original amount). That is, it increased by 83.17% on that date.
In a second audit, on March 24 of this year, again the Comptroller’s Office questioned the breach of contract“affecting the timely commissioning of the riverside defenses in the Huaycoloro ravine, to the detriment of the beneficiary population in the face of the next rainy season.”
As if that were not enough, the budget continued to grow and the work was not delivered to protect the citizens.
However, the Comptroller’s Office attributed the problem to the ANIN, because, during the Dina Boluarte government, “it did not effectively manage the removal of informal vehicular crossings, preventing access to the contractor, generating uncertainty about the completion of the project and its climatic hydraulic capacity.”
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up to the clouds
In this new control report, again a increase in the cost of the work: from S/320,128,339 established in the contract, it experienced an increase of S/652,889,006. It is an increase of 103.94% (S/332,760,667 more in relation to the initial cost). The original figure continued to rise and the work was not completed.
In response to a query from La República, ANIN reported that the Huaycoloro canal has already been completed and at a cost of S/740 million. This represents a new increase. It went from S/320,128,339 to S/740,000,000. Which implies an additional S/419,871,661. That is, more than 131%.
It means that with this final sum two canals could have been built in Huaycoloro.
“The project has 100% completed physical works. Currently, it is in the process of commercial closure and observations,” ANIN explained to this newspaper.
“The work is in the process of being transferred to the Municipality of Lurigancho, with which the act of intention to transfer assets has been signed with the ANIN. The maintenance agreement for the physical works is also being managed,” he added.
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A well-known pattern
Sources from the municipality indicated that the ANIN has not given them a delivery date for the finished work. They hope it will happen before the arrival of the huaicos.
Due to the delay in completing the work, the residents affected by the landslides and floods went out on several occasions to protest against non-compliance with the delivery date. It seemed that the Boluarte government was in no hurry.
Worrying signs
Regarding the notable cost overrun of the work, the former anti-corruption attorney, Antonio Maldonado Paredes, considered that the existence of irregularities is highly probable punishable.
“It is not only strange, but That element is part of what is usually seen in criminal patterns of political corruption.. That happens everywhere in the world. When that element is present, it is because there is a problem in the integrity of the project,” said Maldonado.
“In such a way that I would say that it is an objective element, not subjective, objective and concrete, that would reveal a pattern of corruption in a public work,” he explained.
“Due to its nature – a government-to-government agreement – the project would have no excuse to avoid the rules of transparency, publicity and accountability,” Maldonado added.
The Republic asked the company China International Water & Electric Corp., Peruvian branch, to offer a version on the delays and increased costs of the Huaycoloro work. They responded that they would not make any statements.
The expert in infrastructure projects and arbitrations, and former official of the State Contracting Supervisory Body (OSCE), Edgar Zúñiga Morán, stated that the case deserves in-depth investigation.
“The increase in an investment from S/ 320 million to S/ 740 million must first be fully justified, in accordance with the technical, budgetary and regulatory conditions indicated. It must be taken into account whether it was the deficiencies in the Technical File that I presume caused the additional costs that caused the original price to skyrocket,” Zúñiga noted.
The expert indicated that the government-to-government contract model is not the origin of the problem but rather the execution of the work.
“The government-to-government model is not questionable in itself, but its poor implementation is. When it is applied without technical support, without adequate control or without meeting the previous legal requirements, its purpose is violated,” highlighted the specialist.
