Peru's award winning road construction project

The South Interoceanic Road is a path of integration and development: it is also a GRAA 2011 Winning Project 

On 24 January, 2012 the 713 International Road Federation formally presented a Global Road Achievement Award (GRAA) in the Programme Management category to Concesionaria Interoceánica Sur Tramos 2 y 3, S.A. for its leadership in the provision of integrated services as part of a large-scale transportation infrastructure programme.

IIRSA Sur Concessionaire - Stretches 2 & 3, builds, provides maintenance and operates concessions on the Interoceanic Road, a 649km road that crosses the Cusco and Madre de Dios Departments in the south of Peru, in the Andean and jungle zones.

Part of IIRSA Sur in Peru, a 2,500km long road which connects the Pacific Ocean to Acre in Brazil, Interoceanic Road is the first paved road infrastructure connecting these countries and constitutes a remarkable advance in the economic, cultural and social integration between the countries.

The strategic function of this project is to consolidate the integration of coast-mountainforest of the south region of Peru with the north and north-east region in Brazil. The resulting project opens new trade outlets for the Brazilian and Peruvian agro industry, including grapes, onion, garlic, potatoes and other produce.

On August 8, 2005, the Work Contract and Maintenance Concession of the Interoceanic Road - Stretches 2 and 3 of the Plan of Action for Integration South America - IIRSA was approved in a bid to boost the development and modernisation of the communication routes in the country.
A consortium constituted by 1305 Odebrecht, 3126 Graña y Montero, JJC and ICGSA, immediately began a process to build a strong and long term relationship with the local actors, based on Odebrecht's Entrepreneurial Technology.

Within a month, a social and environmental team travelled through every district of the future road to explain the first steps and the basic milestones of the project.

As part of the construction work undertaken in extremely challenging circumstances (high altitude work, jungle climate), an honest and transparent relationship was formed with the stakeholders impacted by the construction project.

The components of this strategy included community relationships, land-use negotiation, local workforce hiring, health and education support as well as local skills development.

Lastly, the consortium initiated the iSur initiative. Supported by Odebrecht, the Inter- 4900 American Development Bank (IDB) through the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) and the 4901 Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF), this initiative encourages local initiatives for employment and income generation; promotes the conservation of ecosystems through sustainable productive activities and promotes local participation, thus contributing to the improvement quality of life of local populations.
To date, iSur has implemented 16 projects across four strands: Responsible Tourism, Ecobusiness, Conservation and Governance.

This effort is the result of a partnership with Conservation International, 4903 Pronaturaleza Foundation and Odebrecht who work together with the local governments, NGOs and executors to make this infrastructure a real instrument of local development.
Currently, more than 20,000 people are direct beneficiaries of the iSur initiative.

"The construction of the South Interoceanic Road had a vision of development since its inception, involving social actors in relation to its environment and presenting tangible achievements to the affected communities," noted Delcy Machado, Director of Sustainability at Odebrecht Peru.

 " We are very proud to be recognised for our IIRSA Sur Project. The project opened a new trade outlet to the Brazilian agro industry and to Peruvian agricultural and industrial products. Right now, more than 20,000 people are direct beneficiaries of iSur " Lucía Tagata Silva, Odebrecht.   

IRF Global Roads Achievements awards open for entries

The International Road Federation's Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) is a one-of-a-kind competition to recognize innovative road projects and exemplary people that place the road industry at the forefront of worldwide social and economic development.

Are you up for the challenge? 2462 IRF Awards have conferred notable global and peer recognition to over 90 projects in 30 countries.

The Interoceanic Road is the first paved road infrastructure connecting Peru and Brazil.