On November 15, the Regional Government of Huanuco will put before Congress the proposed Intermodal Route that will connect the Amazon with Brazil and China. This ambitious project, which would make Huanuco an export point and that, according to the Government, could be executed by 2021, requires a 10 billion dollar budget.
The Management of Economic Development considers that the first arrival point should be Manaus, as it is the main financial, corporate and economic center of Brazil's northern region. Furthermore, according to market research, Manaus has about 3 million consumers, 620 of the most prestigious factories in the world, and the presence of agricultural processing companies, which would allow Huanuco to export agricultural products and technology in agriculture.
Currently, companies are transporting their products via Chile and the Panama Canal. However, in recent years transportation costs have increased so they are now looking for new routes and this could be an opportunity to export to experienced markets, William Rodriguez said.
Manuel Meza Bravo, a project advisor and Rodriguez, its manager, said the budget for this project would be supplied by the Government of Brazil and China, as they would be the main beneficiaries and have the biggest trade with Peru.
The concession, which includes Brazil and the Amazon River, will be used to transport vessels of more than 200 tons, which will decrease the costs in maritime transport and railway transport that producers now use, said Rodriguez.
He stated that some of the benefits of multimodal transport included:- decreasing the shipping time of agricultural products; improved transport conditions; and the minimizing of economic investment.
"Transporting goods by ship, train, or sea is cheaper than by air or by land. With the help of producers, this would allow us to maintain the price of a kilo of potatoes at 0.20 cents, as they would set the price. It's another kind of trade culture," said Rodriguez.
"This is a dream that has technical support; a proposal that will take a few years to realize, but we need people to see Huanuco as a trade hub," he said.
The main export product is soy and the regional government has been summoned to a meeting with the governments of Brazil, and China, as well as with the directors of the Peruvian Government Railway, the United Nations, and Sierra Exportadora, to discuss the approval of the proposal.
Source: diariocorreo.pe