Closing the gaps in access to drinking water and sanitation networks is one of the main tasks of Peru’s National Executive. In the Southern Macro Region, 169 thousand people do not have access to drinking water, while 19% of this population does not have a sanitation system, reports Christian Barrantes, Vice-Minister of Public Works and Sanitation.
The figures at national level are even higher: according to the official, nearly 3.5 million people across the country do not have access to drinking water, while 7.2 million people do not have adequate sanitation, according to the representative of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation (MVCS).
PROJECTS
Barrantes pointed out that one of the main problems is the time taken to formulate investment projects, from the profiling stage to their approval, by local government specialists who are unable to present a good study due to the small budgets they manage:
“The main difficulty is that the demand is too great for the budgetary capacities of both local governments and the national government, which is why we propose mechanisms such as works for taxes.”
BUDGET NEEDED
According to Jacinto Fernández Rosas, Regional Director of Housing, Construction and Sanitation, one of the main problems in closing the sanitation gap is the lack of budget to carry out investment projects, which is why the regional government of Arequipa can currently only carry out studies at the technical file level. Given this scenario, Christian Barrantes explained that the gap and the demand for projects at the national level are very large, which is why the Ministry is prioritising projects:
“We have to prioritise those places that have the greatest need for expanding network coverage and give second place to those that are network improvements. If we wanted to close the gaps throughout the country by 2030, we would need around 100 billion soles, according to our National Sanitation Plan.”
PROJECTS IN AREQUIPA
It should be noted that the MVCS, through the National Urban Sanitation Programme (PNSU), has three major investment projects in the Arequipa region, all related to access to drinking water and sanitation, with an investment of over one billion soles (US$ 270 million).
These projects include the N31 and N39 reservoirs and their respective sewerage systems in the Cerro Colorado district, with a budget of 179 million soles. In this case, the Vice-Minister stated that both are expected to be completed next year. Also included is the extension and improvement of drinking water and sanitation services in the district of Chala, Caravelí province, which began this year after several years of waiting. It is expected to be completed in May 2026 and has a budget of 200 million soles.
