Restoring hope to communities across Peru

Rising temperatures. Natural disasters. Extreme weather. Climate change continues to wreak havoc across the globe, taking away not only the material things for which communities work so hard, but their hope for the future too.

In 2017, the climate pattern of El Niño had a devastating impact on communities in Peru. Heavy rain led to coastal flooding and erosion, causing over US$5bn of damage to critical infrastructure. Highways, hospitals and schools were damaged, hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes and many more lost precious farmland.

To expedite action, Peru selected the UK as a delivery partner in 2020, under a government-to-government (G2G) contract, with the goal of restoring vital infrastructure and creating long-lasting socio-economic benefits for communities across the country.

As part of the G2G agreement, Mace was appointed (alongside Arup and Gleeds) to the UK Delivery Team to support the Authority for Reconstruction with Changes (ARCC) on the delivery of the reconstruction programme. This includes the building and renovating of 74 schools and 15 new health centres, as well as creating 51,000 hectares of reforestation, afforestation, terracing and revegetation, and supporting the development of 20 flood defence projects.

Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the delivery team hit the ground running through remote mobilisation of over 100 specialists, across five different time zones, working closely with ARCC colleagues in Lima, Piura and Trujillo in northern Peru.

As part of Mace’s approach to introduce positive change within the client organisation, processes have been tailored to the needs of the ARCC with the aim of improving productivity. This includes a significant amount of training on the project control systems; to ensure that everyone understands the data and that enhancements can be made throughout the five-year programme lifecycle. Alongside this has been the implementation of a fully integrated programme management office to effectively and transparently manage the vast amount of information flowing from the projects and inform accurate and proactive decision-making.

Although the restoration of social infrastructure is a cornerstone of the reconstruction works, another key aspect includes building resilience through green and brown infrastructure that will reduce the risk of future flooding and landslides.

From river defence works, to dams and water flow control, and natural infrastructure, our integrated management plan spans 19 river basins, five gullies and seven new urban drainage systems. The portfolio also includes the procurement for seven city drainage system projects, an Early Warning System covering seven regions of Peru and delivery of an extensive training and knowledge-transfer programme.

The benefits go far beyond the delivery of the individual projects, as the programme provides thousands of employment opportunities for local communities, upskilling of labour, and contributes to important socio-economic growth. To date, all projects within the portfolio have received environmental and sustainability training, with 9,000 jobs created for local workers, while five schools have been relocated to more suitable locations to improve future resilience.

The Peru Reconstruction with Changes programme is a leading example of how global best practice can leave a sustainable legacy for people for generations to come.