The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $130 million loan to improve river access for riverside communities in the Peruvian Amazon.
The operation will strengthen the quality of river transport and access to basic services through improvements in resilient infrastructure and associated services at embarkation points. It will also increase the supply of sanitary and school river transport services and reinforce capacities for their planning, management, and operation.
The IDB is the first bank to finance a program aimed at improving river transport and access for remote communities in the Peruvian Amazon, a pioneering project that serves as a benchmark for other Amazonian territories in the region.
“With a multisectoral approach, we link transport with access to essential health and education services so that development reaches those who need it most, enhancing benefits for each resident by integrating them into the local economy,” said Matilde Bordón, IDB Representative in Peru.
The IDB is the first bank to finance a program aimed at improving river transport and access for remote communities in the Peruvian Amazon
This project is part of Amazonia Forever, the IDB Group’s regional program aimed at protecting biodiversity and accelerating sustainable development through three lines of action: expanding innovative financing, promoting knowledge exchange, and facilitating regional coordination among the eight Amazon countries.
In the Peruvian Amazon — which includes the Nanay, Napo, Huallaga, Marañón, Ucayali, Santiago, and Amazon river basins — there are 2,780 riverside communities with approximately 445,000 inhabitants who lack access to land-based connectivity infrastructure and depend exclusively on river transport.
Loan resources will finance the construction of approximately 81 river docks in the river basins mentioned, as well as the acquisition of 22 new school vessels for the safe transport of students and 12 new medical river vessels for emergency care.
The plan will also support the development of studies and plans for waterway development in the area, along with the formulation of strategies and guidelines for the development of river transport.
The program will benefit 176,000 inhabitants in the direct area of influence of the embarkation infrastructure interventions and 1.4 million inhabitants in the indirect area of influence. Among them are 940 students who will have access to safe and free school transport.
The $130 million loan has a maturity of 23.5 years, a grace period of 7 years, an interest rate based on SOFR, and a local counterpart contribution of $34.3 million.
