Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

As the number of manhole cover thefts increases in Peru's capital, SEDAPAL Water Company is evaluating weather it will change its metal covers for plastic ones, said company president Guillermo Leon Suematsu.

The head of the water company explained that the new covers would be made of a plastic that could withstand the weight of people and vehicles.

He added that the new lids would save the company a significant amount of money because it took fewer workers to install and were easier to put into place.

"What is most important is that pedestrians are kept out of harm's way," affirmed Leon, stating that citizens were being harmed by criminals interested in making money by selling the stolen manholes.

According to SEDAPAL, approximately 2,000 metal lids were stolen in the first semester of 2008.

The water company affirmed that each cover was worth approximately $100.

Leon explained that in the past the company attempted to decrease the number of robberies by making the manhole covers out of concrete.

He stated this solution had not been effective because the concrete lid had a metal frame.

"Now that the price of metal is increasing, this has turned into a business," said the head of SEDAPAL, reporting there were 125,000 lids in Lima and Callao.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

The University of Lima, one of the country's leading private universities, affirmed on Wednesday that it would not be selling its campus in the Limean district of Surco.

Aside from rumors that the university was going to sell its campus in the Monterrico area, there were speculations that the private university was going to open a site in southern Lima.

In a press release, university representatives affirmed it was false that the campus in Surco would be sold stating a sale was not in line with the institution's mission.

The press release clarified the campus would not be sold now or in the future and would not have a site south of metropolitan Lima.

It was also announced that there were plans to continue expanding facilities for the benefit and comfort of students.

Expansion plans include the construction of a new building with more classrooms and laboratories as well as three underground parking lots for over 1,100 vehicles and a new 20,000 square-meter (215,278 square-foot) park.

The university has also announced it is to build a new, more modern library.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

According studies done by TINSA Peru, the local subsidiary of a Spanish real estate consulting firm, there were 425 private housing projects for sale in Lima in the second semester of 2008.

Reports revealed there were less housing projects for sale in the second semester of 2008 than the first semester, when there were 493.

Of the 425 projects for sale in the second semester, it was found that sixty were new ones. They entered the market between April and June 2008.

The other 365 have been on the Peruvian market since this year's first semester. 86 new projects were put on sale between January and March 2008.

The Limean districts with the most private housing projects on the market are Surco (82), Miraflores (80), Magdalena del Mar (44), San Borja (39) y Jesús María (25).

These are followed by San Isidro (25), San Miguel (23), Surquillo (18), Pueblo Libre (15) and Chorrillos (14).

The districts with the most new projects are Surco (16), Miraflores (8), and Magdalena, San Borja and San Miguel (each of which has six new projects).

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Just over three months after it was announced that the Teatro Municipal de Lima or Lima's Municipal Theater would be repaired and restored, reconstruction of the famous theater has begun.

Ten years after a disastrous fire partially destroyed the theater, which was home to the city's most famous opera, ballet and drama acts, 30 million soles will be invested in revamping it.

The project is to take eighteen months and will be funded by money generated by the city's new fountain park, said architect Flor de María Valladolid, also the president of Lima's Municipal Real Estate Company (EMILIMA).

Valladolid explained EMILIMA had taken charge of the project three months ago and had made the necessary adjustments to the original proposal to fit the municipality's technical requirements.

The municipality has established that the theater must be completely restored to its original state and must have the most advanced technology.

It was reported that among improvements to be made are 181 modern and comfortable seats along with a 150-space parking lot.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Metro, one of Peru's largest supermarket chains, was forced to move from one of its stores Monday morning when a judge ruled the company had broken its contract.

According to representatives from Interbank, owners of the property being rented by Metro, the supermarket chain has not paid its rent since August 2006.

Approximately 100 police officers arrived to the supermarket in the Limean district of Independencia on Carlos Eyzaguirre Avenue to ensure public safety and that violent acts did not take place.

Local news reports showed images of workers taking down structures and loading merchandise onto moving trucks.

Metro representatives stated the ruling was unfair and that they were being forced to move against their will but were doing so to maintain integrity and for the best interests of their concessionaires, providers and customers.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

During a series of riots involving students from the University of San Marcos in May the construction of a bypass was rejected.

One of the main reasons construction work next to the university was protested was the damage being caused to ruins on campus grounds.

Luis Castañeda, the mayor of Lima announced that an agreement had been made and that work would not cease.

The municipality did not, however, have full authorization from the country's National Culture Institute (INC) to carry out a construction project so close to land that is considered national patrimony.

Because the municipality has not been able to acquire the necessary authorization, Peru's INC has declared that the construction of the Venezuela / Universitaria bypass must stop immediately.

After an archaeological study was carried out by the INC, it was established that construction work was causing serious damage to Peruvian ruins.

Experts from 34 countries will meet in Lima next week in an effort to strengthen the mechanisms of control for preventing the deviation of chemical substances of legal trade towards the illegal production of drugs.

The meeting, which will be held from August 4 - 8, is being organized by the National Commission for Development and a Life without Drugs (Devida), and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), which is an agency of the Organization of American States (OAS).

During the five days, experts will discuss topics such as Chemical Substances, Mechanism of Multilateral Evaluation (MEM), and Pharmaceutical Products.

The MEM topic refers to indicators for the control of chemical inputs and pharmaceutical products.

Peru will be represented by Devida experts, the National Superintendency of Tax Administration (SUNAT), Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the ministries of Interior and Health.

News source: ANDINA

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

In an effort to reduce traffic during Peru's summer season, when a great deal of metropolitan Lima heads south to the beach, the Lima Council has announced the start of a highway augmentation project.

In a construction project that is to cost 30 million soles, Panamericana Sur highway is to be expanded from six lanes of traffic traveling in north and southbound directions to eight.

Armando Molina, an advisor for the Municipality of Lima explained that the highway would be made bigger by decreasing the size of the traffic meridian and using land on both sides of the highway.

It was reported that the project, which began early Friday morning 900 meters from Atocongo Bridge, is not to interfere with traffic and cause congestion.

The first part of the highway that is to be expanded is the northbound stretch from Atocongo Bridge to Benavides Avenue.

Both north and southbound stretches between the bridge and Benavides Avenue should be done before the summer season, said Molina.

He added that by June 2009, the highway will have been increased in size from Benavides Avenue to the racetracks in Surco.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Despite the winter season and during a month which is usually gray skies, humid weather and dense fog, people in Lima had a chance to enjoy some extra sunshine and warm weather during July.

The country's weather service explained that July's warm weather phenomenon had been caused by an increase in the ocean's temperature.

According to Peru's national weather service (SENAMHI), however, those days have come to an end.

SENAMHI reported that colder temperatures and lots of drizzle would be seen throughout August.

It was also reported that temperatures would drop as low as 12°C (54°F) and that much less sunshine would be seen throughout the month.

Furthermore, it was reported that 85 - 90 percent humidity is to be felt while winds as fast as 15 meters per second (34 miles per hour) rush by.

The coldest part of the day will be from 3 p.m. forward, said SENAMHI.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

As traffic gets increasingly worse all over Metropolitan Lima and motorists become more frustrated Peru's President Alan Garcia voiced a question that many Limeans have asked themselves.

Why doesn't Mayor Castañeda have construction workers working at night? The president suggested that three eight-hour shifts be organized so Lima's main roads were repaired more quickly.

To confirm what many have complained about - that workers are not working at night - El Comercio daily sent reporters to find out which construction companies were making progress while the rest of the city slept.

According to the daily, minimal work was being done throughout the night. Reporters went to the city's main streets such as República de Panamá Avenue in Barranco and Petit Thouars Avenue in Lince.

While it was reported that little work was being done during the night on avenues such as Javier Prado, the daily affirmed that no work was being done in other parts of the city.

Petit Thouars Avenue in Miraflores, Arequipa Avenue, Jiron Lampa in downtown Lima as well as Emancipacion Avenue were streets found to be completely abandoned at night.

Despite this, Engineer Carola Cuadros, project coordinator for Lima has assured that avenues such as La Marina, Arequipa, Petit Thouars and Javier Prado will be ready by October 31.