Back On Track: Reviving A Forsaken Transportation Project

  Benefits Realization   Communications Management   Lessons Learned   PM Network  

Construction on the Lima Metro project stopped abruptly in 1986, leaving unfinished pillars abandoned in the center of the Peruvian capital— the ruins of a dream derailed.

The project was cut short during a period of financial crisis caused by hyperinflation, social tension and threats from the Maoist group Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), which carried out several attacks on Lima’s fledgling infrastructure in the 1980s.

In recent years, however, Peru’s economic situation has improved dramatically. The nation now leads the way among Latin American economies with an 8.8 percent growth rate in 2010.

As the economy recovered, the Peruvian government began reinvesting in public works projects and merged several agencies to create ProInversión Private Investment Promotion Agency in 2002. The agency’s mission is to entice private companies to invest in the public sector, establish general project requirements, and fund portions of construction and operations.

The Need for Speed

A rapid-transit system is badly needed in the sprawling capital city of 8.9 million. Lima’s northern districts have experienced rapid population growth and have become major industrial hubs. It now takes a bus two hours to travel between the northern and southern districts, according to Christy García-Godos Naveda, railways project manager at …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.