Peru's private investment promotion agency ProInversión has announced it has awarded the contract for the Amazon waterway (Hidrovía Amazónica) PPP project to the Hidrovías II consortium.

The consortium is formed by Sinohydro, a Chinese state-owned hydropower engineering and construction company, and Construccion y Administracion S.A. (CASA), a Peruvian construction company.

Jan De Nul Group and China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) also submitted proposals for the project.

The project comprises the implementation of works and actions to improve the navigability and transit of passenger and cargo traffic through the Amazonas, Marañón, Huallaga and Ucayali rivers.

The project involves dredging on critical areas and on the access to the Port of Iquitos, implementation of a GPS information system on the navigation channel, installation of level measuring stations with transmission of information, implementation of a system of monitoring of navigability conditions and a cleaning system.

The consortium will be responsible for the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance (DBFOM) of the waterway for a period of 20 years. The total project investment is estimated at US$95 million.

ProInversión re-launched the tender process for the concession in December 2015.

The Amazon River System provides the main transportation means in the Amazon region of Peru, due to its natural characteristics and to the lack of technical and financial opportunities to implement other means of transportation. Comprising more than 6,000 kilometers of waterways, the River System embraces more than 90% of the passengers and cargo transportation in the region, thus becoming one of the principal means of development for trade and generation of wealth.