The demand for greater infrastructure in Peru is steadily increasing, with the need for greater capacity in ports, roads, trains, and airports, among other public works,
When providing an assessment of the economic performance, the government official indicated that 2024 was a very good year for Peru's economy.
"The numbers are quite good. A record level of investment execution has been achieved, which is bordering on S/58 billion (about US$15.483 billion), including the three sectors: local governments, regional governments, and the central government; this is 16% higher than the figure achieved in 2023, which was also very good," he added.
The economist said Peru needs these resources for infrastructure investments, as the country has an estimated deficit of between US$100 billion and US$150 billion in infrastructure.
"And this gap is growing; what we need is to invest more and more. This need for increased investment intensifies as the port hub we have in Callao region, in Chancay, and the air terminal (New Jorge Chávez International Airport), demands more and better infrastructure," Arista said.
"We cannot intend to be Latin America's port hub with the same logistics infrastructure that we have now," he added.
Therefore, Minister Arista emphasized the urgency of increasing investments in logistics infrastructure for the two large ports and the new international airport that connect Peru with the world.
"For example, there is plenty of demand for investment right now in the southern and northern ports, but we cannot do this with State resources alone; we need the involvement of private resources," he indicated.
In this regard, the Cabinet member emphasized the need to reach Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreements and referred to the cases of the Matarani, Chimbote, and Etén Ports.
"The demand to increase the size of these ports is growing, as is the need to widen our roads and highways. We need to connect both Chancay and Callao with commuter trains," Arista underlined.
"Indeed, our demand for more infrastructure is intensifying, and that is why we are glad to invest this amount of resources; however, as you can imagine, it is still a very insufficient amount for what is needed in Peru," he acknowledged.
The economist said that if Peru wants to grow at rates above 3.2% and 3.3, in order to reach GDP growth rates of 5%, 6%, or 7%, it needs to focus more on investments.
"Especially in infrastructure investment that enables us to make the most of the country's geographic location," he stated.