Residents and authorities of the province of La Convención – located in Peru’s Apurimac and Ene River Valleys, or VRAE – inaugurated on Tuesday a new highway linking the remote districts of Kimbiri and Kepashiato.
“This modern highway will allow more than 50,000 residents to improve their standard of living because products such as coffee, cacao, annatto and fruit will reach the coastal markets much faster, making them available for exportation,” said Echarate Mayor Elio Pro Herrera.
“To reach Cuzco, we used to travel for three days,” said Kimbiri Professor Percy Zuluaga. “Now, we can get there in less than 18 hours.”
The 133 kilometer-long highway – which cost 55 million soles, or $18.3 million – was built with regional funds as well as money obtained from taxes paid out by the Camisea Gas Consortium.
The Camisea Gas Consortium is formed by Pluspetrol of Argentina and Transportadora de Gas del Peru, TGP, which is owned by Pluspetrol, Hunt Oil of the US, Brussels-based Suez-Tractebel, SK Corporation of Korea, Algerian state-owned Sonatrach, and the Peruvian construction and energy group Graña y Montero.
