The operation of high-performance schools will begin in May 2025
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF, by its acronym in Spanish) signed the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contract with Marnhos for the construction of three high-performance schools (COAR, by its acronym in Spanish) in the Cusco, Huancavelica and Pasco regions. According to José Gabriel Bueno, director of international infrastructure at Marhnos, the project will have a total investment of S/228 million and will be the group's gateway to our country.
—You won the contest for the COAR in June 2021. More than a year passed for the signing of the contract. What steps are missing for the works to begin?
We are in the process of technical studies, soil mechanics and reaching a definitive engineering study. We hope that this will be completed in the coming months to start the works in November 2023.
Will the works for the three schools begin simultaneously or could their construction be staggered?
The project is designed so that the start of the works is simultaneous for all three. The operation will also start at the same time, in May 2025. The entire project contract is for 20 years.
—This is the first PPP in education that has been awarded. How is operation and maintenance different from other PPPs?
In this case we have to leave an infrastructure that is maintained with a high level of use, in the best possible conditions. In addition, we must provide services such as security, student laundry, and food services, maintaining levels even in the last years of the contract.
—In recent years it has been very difficult to award PPP projects in general in the country. What were the complications you had in the process?
I think that in Proinversión we found technical capacity, dialogue capacity to carry out the closing of the signing of the contract. In the Ministry of Education too. I do believe that these are processes that require patience to carry them out.
—But, in general, it is difficult for companies to choose to invest in PPPs in Peru. Why do you?
It is not an exclusive issue of Peru, but rather a symptom of the business at a global level. This makes it difficult to have a long-term vision, but having a clear strategy, you can find the elements to work on in the long term.
—This is your first project in Peru, do you have other contests in which you are participating?
We are interested in more projects on the education side mainly. These are initiatives that have taken place in recent months and we hope that in 2023 some of them will materialize. We want this to be the first of several projects in the education sector, but we are also interested in the health sector, in the hospital projects in Piura and Chimbote.
—Beyond the COAR project, how much money do you expect to invest in PPP projects in the future?
Our PPP projects in Peru would have an investment of approximately S/1,200 million.
