Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's Independence Day speech focused on Government plans to resume growth and economic dynamism in the Andean nation.
As is known, the Andean country was severely hit by heavy rains, floods and landslides in the January-March period.
"Peruvian economy —already in a sharp decline since mid-2014— has thus slowed down," he indicated.
As a result, the Economy and Finance Ministry was forced to revise its initial 4% growth forecast for 2017 downwards to less than 3%.
"Such [growth] pace is entirely unsuitable for an emerging economy like Peru's, which relies on a young workforce that demands at least 300,000 new jobs."
While acknowledging said goal has not been met during his first year in office, Mr. Kuczynski proved positive when looking ahead.
"But I remain optimistic, and I am confident the year ahead of us will be much better than the one that went by," he said.
Investments
"We are restoring private investors' confidence, which translates into new investments in mining, hydrocarbons, roads, ports and airports," Mr. Kuczynski said from the Congress headquarters.
A total of 12 projects —worth S/32 billion (about US$9.84 billion)— have been made viable during the past weeks. Outcomes will be evidenced over the next months.
In addition, he affirmed a bill is being introduced to speed up investments in infrastructure.
Exports
According to the 78-year-old, Peruvian exports have seen a significant recovery since his administration took office in 2016, thus growing for 12 consecutive months.
Tourism
Built on culture, biodiversity and gastronomy, tourism is a fundamental part of the economy. Hence, the need to promote such industry to generate thousands of jobs all over the nation.
In this sense, "we are working on ports, airports, roads and tourism infrastructure such as the recently-inaugurated cable car system in Kuelap."
Unblocking projects
On the other hand, the statesman pledged to resume large projects put on hold due to corruption and inadequate financing arrangements.
The new Cusco airport, the Southern Gas Pipeline, the Lima Airport expansion, the Lima Metro Line 2 project are some of his speech's highlights on the matter.
Positive global scenario
He assured the economy will be fostered by the favorable international environment, which has led to a 15% increase in major metal prices so far this year.
This will favor the execution of key mining projects in the following 18 months, as is the case of Quellaveco, Michiquillay, Mina Justa and Corani, which together entail an investment of S/30 billion (around US$9.23 billion).
SMEs
As for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the government has proposed an aggressive plan targeting credit access, State purchases and a favorable tax regime with a lower burden —within the long-term— to encourage their growth.
Housing
The Peruvian leader noted a social housing initiative in favor of lower-income families, that is set to reach over 30,000 families this year and more than 250,000 by the end of his government.
These measures are estimated to result in a positive GDP growth rate of over 4% next year.
Formalization of jobs
Finally, he put special emphasis on government measures backed by Congress that intent to promote formalization among enterprises, thus creating decent and sustainable jobs.
(END) DHT/RMB/MVB
Published: 7/28/2017