Brazilian consortium Egasur said Friday it will make a request to Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines to temporarily delay the concession for the multi-billion dollar Inambari hydroelectric project, state news agency Andina reported.
The Inambari dam is planned along the border region of Puno, Cuzco, and Madre de Dios department, but has faced opposition from local communities worried about the projects environmental and social impacts.
“The social and economic reality in the Andean and Amazonian south, including the area influenced by the Inambari project, requires going beyond the short term to adapt the project to the rhythm of the local social processes,” said the president of the project, Evandro Miguel.
“The extension will allow time for the company to solidly establish bases for what will be a relation that won’t be worn out in the fulfillment of formal procedures, but rather planed for decades, interwoven with the agenda and the potentials to develop the Andean and Amazonian south.”
The Inambari dam is Peru’s largest hydroelectric project and fifth largest in Latin America. Egasure is expected to invest $4 billion in the project, which is slated to have an installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts of electricity.
However, the dam is also expected to flood around 150 square miles of land and threaten the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park. It is also expected to displace more than 3,200 people from the town of San Gabán.
