The Comptroller General of the Republic requested the Supervisory Body for Investment in Public Use Transport Infrastructure (Ositrán) to sign an addendum for the construction of internal roads in the new Jorge Chávez International Airport (AIJC), a situation that, according to the agency attached to the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC), could paralyze the work.
The Control Milestone Report No. 15827-2024-CG/APP-SCC, which questions the execution of this work within the concession grounds due to the failure to sign an addendum, would directly contravene the Peruvian Government’s objectives to have the air terminal ready in the last quarter of 2024, in the opinion of the regulator.
It should be noted that the internal circulation routes that Lima Airport Partners (LAP) is building at the AIJC will allow connection with the provisional modular bridges that will serve as temporary access to the new air terminal.
“If the execution of the aforementioned work is halted, as the Comptroller General’s Office intends, airport users and operators would be harmed, given that, in their opinion, construction could not continue until an addendum is signed, delaying the date of its operation, scheduled for next December,” Ositrán said in a statement.
In this regard, Ositrán clarified that the construction of the internal access roads to the AIJC includes an investment that is already projected for 2030 within the Master Development Plan of the AIJC approved by the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) of the MTC, “so the advancement of these works, due to the current need, does not require an addendum.”
Jorge Chavez Airport: Ositran vs. Comptroller General
Emergency Decree No. 009-2024 authorized the MTC to contractually modify the Concession Contract to facilitate the construction of internal roads in order to guarantee additional financing not provided for in the initial financing.
The plan considered the Santa Rosa bridge, which has not yet been built, as the access route to the new airport, “but an addendum is not necessary, in any way, for the construction and operation of works that the Master Development Plan already contemplates,” according to Ositrán.
Ositrán said he is actively working on supervision to ensure that the works are developed in accordance with established standards, under the “fast track” scheme, in which the design and execution activities of the work overlap, which allows for greater progress.
“There is no approved technical file, but rather a design within a risk allocation framework, where both the design and construction risks are assigned to the concessionaire,” the supervisor said.
For Ositrán, the Comptroller’s Office would be applying an inappropriate frame of reference (for public works) to a self-sustaining concession, which is a completely different contractual figure, which does not require going through the National System of Multiannual Programming and Investment Management (Invierte.pe), but rather has as its only frame of reference for the execution of investments the Master Development Plan.
“Ositrán reiterates its commitment to supervision within the legal framework of its powers and to transparency in the management of investments, and will therefore continue to work in coordination with the parties involved (MTC and LAP) to ensure compliance with the concession contract and the start-up of the new terminal on the scheduled date, for the benefit of the millions of users of said air terminal,” he concluded.
Position of the Comptroller’s Office
For its part, through a statement, the General Comptroller’s Office of the Republic stated that it has shown that the Concessionaire has begun the construction of the new internal roads, which will connect the new passenger terminal of the Jorge Chávez International Airport (AIJC) with the provisional modular bridges (which will provide access to said airport in replacement of the Santa Rosa Bridge that was to be built by the MTC), despite not having signed an addendum to the Concession Contract that incorporates said investments (cost, term, etc.).
Given this situation, it is worth clarifying that the MTC already has expedited rules that would allow it to sign said addendum in accordance with Emergency Decree No. 009-2024 of May 19. Consequently, This omission reflects non-compliance with the legal frameworkthe Comptroller’s Office stated.
Likewise, the entity cites the Control Milestone Report No. 15827-2024-CG/APP-SCC which “indicates that the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Concessionaire have not yet signed an addendum to the Concession Contract in which the supporting documents required by law, related to the design, the term of execution of the investments, the cost of the execution of the works, among others, are evaluated and approved, for which they must previously justify that the financial economic balance of the Concession Contract and the competitive conditions of the private investment promotion process are maintained, as provided by the applicable legal framework.”
Source: Larepublica
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