The bad news does not stop for the Peruvian State, and that is that the Arbitration Court of the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) determined that it must compensate Kuntur Wasi with US$91 million for the termination of the concession contract for the construction and operation of the Chinchero airport in Cusco, in 2018.
The Kuntur Wasi Airport Society was notified yesterday regarding the favorable award in the arbitration it held in said international instance against the Peruvian State.
It must be specified that the ICSID arbitration award constitutes a final instance, and establishes that the Peruvian State must financially compensate Kuntur Wasi for the return of the guarantee, business profit, return of general expenses and the penalty for unilateral termination of the contract in the management of former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
Antecedent
After Bruno Giuffra’s management concession at the head of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) was cancelled, Kuntur Wasi went to ICSID. Giuffra alleged that Kuntur Wasi would not be interested in going to international arbitration after the termination of the Chinchero contract, and pointed out that PPK management tried, with the addendum, to fix what the previous government (Ollanta Humala) had done. .
The ICSID decision was unanimous, and they considered that the concession contract and its addendum were fully valid and lawful, and therefore the MTC’s decision to unilaterally terminate it was “arbitrary and unjustified.”
Through a statement, Kuntur Wasi argues that the ICSID ruling confirms that its executives “acted in good faith and within the framework of the legislation,” both in the negotiation period and in the signing of the contract and its addendum.
Current situation
Currently, the construction of the Chinchero airport is in charge of the Natividad Chinchero Consortium. In the second half of April, the MTC signed the addendum to advance S/40 million to the contractor, although this money does not come from the US$193 million that the consortium demands for updating costs – already rejected in the Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB)–. In this way, this new process runs the risk of being paralyzed again.
It would mobilize 7 million tourists
Under optimal conditions, the Chinchero airport would handle 7 million passengers a year, estimates the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
This would be double the capacity of the Alejandro Velasco Astete airport.
According to the latest update, the completion of the airport will be March 2025, and even so, the PMO Chinchero – the MTC control advisor – assures that the Natividad Consortium “is not in a position to finish it.” Sector sources agree that Chinchero will not be handed over to the Government of Dina Boluarte.
Data
Worth. The US$91 million is subject to interest at the average lending rate in dollars until the time the disbursement is made.
Addendum. The S/40 million in the addendum do not come from the US$197 million that Natividad requests from the State.
Source: Larepublica
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