Near the Capital of the Inca Empire
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Nov. 19 (local time) for construction of the main facilities of Chinchero International Airport in Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, in Peru.
The airport construction project is being promoted under a G2G contract between the Korean and Peruvian governments, with the participation of Korea Airports Corp., the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C).
A consortium formed by Hyndai E&C has started to construct 15 airport facilities, including a passenger terminal, with a total budget of 760 billion won.
Located in an alpine area 3,800 meters above sea level, Chinchero International Airport will have a 4-km runway, a terminal with 13 boarding bridges, and a mooring that can accommodate 13 aircraft. The airport can serve 4.5 million passengers a year
When completed, the new airport will shorten the time required for tourists to visit Machu Picchu. Currently, tourists use Astete International Airport, and it takes them about three hours to travel to Machu Picchu.
“Even when the Peruvian government declared a COVID-19 national emergency, the project did not stop,” said an official of the Project Management Office (PMO). “The construction process rate stood at 31.9 percent as of September, well ahead of the 28.9 percent set in the original schedule. If this pace is maintained, we will be able to reach the goal of opening the airport in September 2025 without any difficulties.”
The airport project is the only social overhead capital (SOC) project among the 21 overseas projects that Korea has won through the G2G formula. Korea Airports Corp., which operates 14 airports including Gimpo Airport, formed Team Korea with the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Overseas Construction Association to win the project in June 2019.
Overseas airport development is one of the world's top three infrastructure markets along with railroads and roads. When aviation demand recovers, investment in airport development is expected to reach US$826.5 billion around 2023-2024.
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo delivered a congratulatory message to Korea through Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Roberto Sánchez. “Since signing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea in 2011, trade exchanges between the two countries have been on the rise,” President Castillo said. “We will successfully build the new airport through close cooperation between the two countries.”