Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met in Manaus, Brazil, on 16 June to discuss the pipeline and other energy related matters.
The meeting resulted in several energy co-operation agreements, and the two leaders released a joint communiqué in which President Lula da Silva expressed his support for the Gasoducto Andino del Sur Pipeline.
The 1,085 km pipeline would transport natural gas from central to southern Peru, where it would be used to supply copper mines. The proposed route runs from the Camisea gas fields, located in Cusco, to Juliaca, an Andean city near the border with Bolivia.
Kuntur Transportadora de Gas, a subsidiary of US Conduit Partners, was awarded the contract for the construction of the pipeline in December 2008, and negotiations are currently underway for Brazilian firms Petrobras and Oderbrecht to join the project.
Meanwhile, last month Kuntur Transportadora de Gas and the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines held 79 public workshops about the pipeline project, which were attended by over seven thousand residents. Following these workshops, the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is being finalised, and will be submitted to the Ministry on 5 July for review and approval.
