Major Bottlenecks in Preventive Infrastructure Projects as El Niño Disaster Looms in Peru

Peru is counting down to the devastating effects that could arise as the Coastal El Niño (El Niño costero) event soon reaches its maximum intensity. Unfortunately, a large portion of the essential preventive infrastructure projects designed to protect the country against natural disasters such as heavy rains, floods, and landslides that may occur has not yet been completed. While the remaining time to take necessary precautions and build life-saving infrastructure is rapidly narrowing, authorities need to seriously accelerate the current pace of progress. Otherwise, given the bitter lessons of past disasters, the country could face a much larger humanitarian and economic crisis. Experts emphasize that the current picture is extremely worrying in terms of disaster preparedness and requires urgent action plans.

Detailed reports provided by the Development Research Network (REDES) and shared by the data analysis platform ECData reveal the severity of the situation. Data examining the status of 87 different preventive investment projects, with a total value of approximately 19.9 billion Peruvian Soles (S/19.938 million), shows that only a small fraction of the projects have been completed. Only 10 of these 87 projects are 100% complete in their physical implementation phase, and 28 projects have an progress of over 80%. The most striking and worrying detail is that 41 projects have made no physical progress and remain at 0%.

The projects in question cover nine different regions of Peru and affect the country's main areas with the highest disaster risk. Regions such as Lima, Piura, La Libertad, Áncash, Lambayeque, Ica, and Tumbes stand out as the places with the highest vulnerability against the heavy rains and floods brought by this climate event. Among the projects planned to be carried out in these regions are river improvement works, cleaning of riverbeds, water drainage systems, river defense embankments, and retaining walls to prevent landslides. Furthermore, it is noted that 42 of these 87 interventions were initiated before 2020, meaning they have been in the implementation phase for at least six and a half years. This situation reveals how much bureaucratic obstacles and administrative glitches have paralyzed the projects.

Uncertainties and changes in the administrative structure are also among the main factors causing disruptions in the investment processes. The National Infrastructure Authority (ANIN), which was dissolved at the end of 2023 and assumed its former powers, is currently responsible for 31 of these massive projects. While 14 of the projects under the supervision of this new institution established in 2024 have either no physical progress or remain below 20%, only six projects have managed to exceed the 80% progress mark. On the other hand, 29 out of 56 projects assigned to other institutions at three different levels of government, such as regional governments and municipalities, are reported to have recorded no physical progress. REDES economist Giacomo Puccio states that some critical projects carried out through intergovernmental agreements face the risk of stalling due to insufficient budget allocation.

The proposed solutions to revitalize these idle or very slowly progressing projects and close the massive implementation gap involve a series of challenging obstacles, primarily financing. Puccio states that it is essential for ANIN to be provided with sufficient financing to start construction and complete existing projects, but these budget requests should have been made immediately following the last Coastal El Niño event in 2023. Currently, Peru's constrained and challenging financial situation (a damaged treasury) is considered the biggest handicap preventing simultaneous prioritization of all projects. The success of the multisectoral plan against heavy rains and associated hazards covering the years 2025-2027 seems tightly linked to how quickly these structural and economic obstacles will be overcome.