Lima, Peru, January, 29, 2009
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has agreed to help Peru LNG create jobs and raise incomes for communities that live alongside a $3.8 billion natural-gas export project that is supporting economic growth in some of Peru’s poorest regions.
IFC has signed a cooperation agreement with Peru LNG, an international consortium that is developing the project. The project consists of a liquefied natural gas plant and a marine loading terminal 170 kilometers south of Lima on Peru's central coast, as well as a new 408-kilometer pipeline that will connect to an existing pipeline network east of the Andes.
Under the agreement, IFC and Peru LNG will run three community development initiatives. One is aimed at increasing income and employment for communities neighboring the LNG plant. It will help small and medium enterprises in Chincha (Department of Ica) and Cañete (Department of Lima) provide services such as food, transportation, uniforms, and maintenance to the project and other local businesses.
“IFC has been very helpful in supporting our goal of making the Peru LNG project a win-win situation for all,” said Steve Suellentrop, President of Peru LNG. “They assisted us in identifying most effective ways of working with local communities so that people living near the project can use opportunities such as employment and contracting effectively.”
IFC also will provide expert advice on international best practice for Peru LNG’s “Community Participatory Monitoring Program,” which will give communities in the project’s area of influence an opportunity to evaluate the consortium’s environmental and social performance.
In addition, IFC will help Peru LNG support the local governments of Huamanga and La Mar in Ayacucho and Huaytará in Huancavelica by helping them manage, plan, and allocate revenues, leading to a more efficient investment of royalties.
“Combining community programs with financial support for projects is a trademark of IFC,” said Somit Varma, IFC’s director and global head for oil, gas, mining, and chemicals. “Oil and gas projects can lead to sustainable development, particularly if we ensure that local people benefit, and that is what we are doing here with our partner Peru LNG.”
The Peru LNG project will be the largest direct foreign direct investment in the country’s history. Last year IFC, alongside other multilateral banks and commercial banks, signed a $300 million loan in support of the project’s benefits for Peru.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
