The Public Transport Infrastructure Investment Supervisory Agency (OSITRAN) will not stop work on the new Jorge Chávez airport, despite the Comptroller’s Office’s observation regarding the alleged lack of an addendum to support the construction of bridges not contemplated in the original project.
The problem arose because the Santa Rosa Bridge, which was to provide vehicular access to the terminal operated by Lima Airport Partners (LAP), did not find a bidder. Therefore, it was decided to build Bailey bridges –made of iron– to guarantee the continuity of operations until the last quarter of 2024, when the terminal should be inaugurated.
Verónica Zambrano, president of Ositrán, says that the Comptroller’s Office “is supervising the work as if it were public, wanting to guide each of its parts as if there were a technical file.”
“And here there is no technical file, but a design that is being worked on as it is being built. Everything is a risk for the concessionaire, if something goes wrong, LAP has to modify it,” explains the lawyer. The Republic.
Zambrano explains that the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC), in its role as the sector’s leader, was empowered to make the “emergency decision outside the contractual framework,” given that the bridges are not part of the contract.
Ositrán warns that the Comptroller’s Office risks an international arbitration over the US$2 billion project. For Zambrano, the problem is that there is no qualified technical staff in the comptroller’s office, so they will challenge the control milestone report no. 15827-2024-CG/APP-SCC that gave rise to the controversy.
“We would have to stop the work until it is formalized, but the addendum refers to costs and not infrastructure. Therefore, the addendum could not do much either. We do not understand this observation,” Zambrano replies.
It should be noted that President Dina Boluarte herself said she hoped the new terminal would be ready to receive its first passengers in November.
Comptroller General turns to MEF to defend his position
In response, the Comptroller’s Office has indicated that Emergency Decree No. 009-2024, which authorized the MTC to contractually modify the project, did not allow for the construction of new internal roads that will connect the passenger terminal with the temporary bridges.
The body maintains that a situation has been created that violates the current legal framework, which provides that addenda “do not have retroactive effects, but must first be signed and then executed.”
In this respect, it involves the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and its General Directorate of Private Investment Promotion Policy (DGPPIP) in the contest.
“The addendum has not been finalized, despite the fact that a special regime was approved for this purpose that allows the MTC not to require the opinion of the Comptroller’s Office or the MEF, but only that of Ositrán,” the organization affirms.
Source: Larepublica
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