Announcement of Peru to Improve Municipal Agencies, Services for Poor in Capital City on June 25, 1984

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. 13ANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 84/104 Contact: Ciro Gamarra June 25, 1984 (202) 477-5320 PERU TO IMPROVE MUNICIPAL AGENCIES, SERVICES FOR POOR IN CAPITAL CITY Peru is making an investment of $136 million for a project designed to prepare the transfer of management functions of its capital city, Lima, from the national government to the local government. The project aims to make municipal institutions stronger, and to improve urban transport, solid waste disposal, and wholesale marketing in the metropolitan Lima area. The World Bank has approved a loan of $82.5 million to support the project. A large segment of the city's poorer population will benefit from the project. Road paving and other improvements, and expanded garbage collection services will serve directly Lima's low-income neighborhoods. A new wholesale market will benefit some two-thirds of the metropolitan area's poor. Measures will be taken to improve the management of traffic in the city. Technical assistance, studies, and training will be provided for the traffic police, the urban transport office of the municipality of Lima, and the Metropolitan Investment Fund. Assistance for the municipality will focus on metropolitan planning, municipal finance, and coordination among government agencies. The wholesale market will be constructed on about 40 hectares of land, and will replace two old markets. With a capacity for 1.7 million metric tons of fruits and vegetables, the new market will accomodate a greater volume of goods and is expected to result in more efficient trading. Two landfill sites will be developed for depositing solid wastes. Vehicles, equipment, and a transfer station for garbage collection will be provided. Garbage collection staff will receive technical assistance and training. Besides the World Bank loan, about $5 million is expected to come from suppliers' credits. Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit, a German technical assistance agency, will provide the equivalent of $1 million in technical assistance for the works in solid waste disposal. The national government, the Wholesale Market Corporation, and the Metropolitan Investment Fund will contribute $47.4 million. The World Bank loan is for 17 years including four years' grace, with a variable interest rate, currently 10.08 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances and a front-end fee of 0.25 percent on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.