On January 29, in less than three weeks, the new terminal of the Jorge Chavez International Airportoperated by Lima Aiport Partners (LAP).
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Bliss iinfrastructure It has an area of 270,000 square meters, three times the space of the current terminal, and in its final stage it hopes to provide service to 40 million passengers, as well as generate around 120,000 jobs.
This investment is 100% private, carried out by LAP as stipulated in the concession contract. If you do not do so within the period or under the conditions provided, you will have to pay a penalty.
However, these same demands are not met by the State, represented by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC), which until now presents a series of non-compliance without anyone saying or doing anything. The worst thing is that these breaches will cause users to be harmed. This is because problems with access to the airport will mean that, as a precaution, passengers will have to be at the terminal more in advance.
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THE DEBTS OF THE MTC
With the addendum to the contract for the construction of the new terminal, signed in 2017, the construction of the Santa Rosa Bridge over the Rimac River was established as access to the airport. This should have been delivered by the TCM in July 2021, but it was not fulfilled. The bidding process was declared void on four occasions. It was not until August 2024 that said bridge was awarded to the Government of France and it is estimated that it would not be ready until 2027.
For this reason, last year, the TCM announced that it would update costs in the engineering study and implement temporary modular bridges to enter the airport terminal. This non-compliance in the construction of the Santa Rosa bridge generated cost overruns for the State of S/11,974,204, according to the Comptroller General of the Republic, although it fell short.
The extra cost was not only for the State, but for LAP, which had to build a new access route for the temporary bridges.
The doubt with the modular bridges that the MTC will install is about their ability to provide passenger access to the airport. These bridges are generally used in emergencies and for short periods. In addition, other doubts arise about whether they will withstand the number of vehicles that will circulate in the terminal.
Added to this is the traffic congestion that will be caused by the fact that the Santa Rosa bridge has not been built. With the modular bridges, access to the airport will be through Morales Duárez Avenue, a route used mainly for cargo transportation, which is characterized by citizen insecurity.
Although the MTC indicated that a contingent of the National Police will be taken to the area, it remains to be seen if it will be sufficient.
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LACK OF VISION OF THE STATE
Something that has also been delayed is the Santa Rosa Expressway (VESR), a work carried out by the French Government that will connect the Costa Verde with the Jorge Chávez International Airport. According to the initial schedule, construction will begin in September 2025 and would extend until December 2027. However, with the delays, it would only be ready in 2030.
On the other hand, the construction of the Lima Metro will advance along Faucett Avenue, which will eventually interrupt this route. A similar situation will occur with the construction of the Santa Rosa bridge, which will lead to the closure of Morales Duárez Avenue. Also, the Santa Rosa Expressway will cause the closure of Argentina Avenue and Santa Rosa Avenue.
Therefore, if the road closures coincide, no one knows what the access route will be for the new airport terminal. The worst thing is that there is no State authority in charge of coordinating with the concessionaires to avoid this problem.
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ENTRANCE TO THE TERMINAL
In 2021, Lima Airport Partners (LAP) proposed operating the Jorge Chávez International Airport with two terminals, but the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MTC) rejected the initiative, without adequately considering access to mass transportation. Currently, an underground branch of Metro Line 4 is being built that will connect the new airport. But, while it is being finalized, access to the airport will be limited to private vehicles, taxis and AeroExpreso buses, which will initially have three routes.
In this regard, the manager of Aetai, Carlos Gutiérrez, stated that the main problem with the lack of the Santa Rosa bridge is connectivity and the damage due to the volume of traffic that will be generated. For this reason, he pointed out that for now general entry through Gambetta should also be enabled for users. According to the plan, this road will be used by suppliers, authorized taxis and workers.
Recently, the president of Ositran, Verónica Zambrano, limited herself to speaking out about non-compliance with the MTC, arguing that it is not under its scope of regulation.
That is, the MTC can take forever to fulfill its commitments, but if the private sector does not arrive, it is penalized. Where is the promotion of private investment that President Boluarte boasts about?
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