Majes-Siguas is an irrigation project in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

which envisages transferring water from the

Colca River Colca River (possibly from Quechua ''qullqa'' deposit) which downstream is called Majes and Camaná is a Peruvian river in the Arequipa Region that flows deep in the rugged Andes of southern Peru. It originates south-east of the village Janq'u La ...

to the Siguas River for irrigation purposes, and further to take water from the Apurimac River.

The project

The original plan of the project involved the construction of a long aqueduct that diverts water from the Rio Colca close to Tuti and transfers it around Ampato mountain to a canal which ends into the Siguas River. The diversion has a capacity of and is part of the first stage of the project. The diversion has a hydraulic drop of about and it is envisaged to exploit it for

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

production at the Lluta and Lluclla hydropower stations, yielding and respectively; the company Luz del Sur was tasked to construct these plants. From the Siguas River a long tunnel-canal starting at Pitay delivers the water to the Pampa de Majes. As part of the project, the Condoroma Reservoir with a capacity of on the Colca. The Angostura Reservoir is part of Majes-Siguas II. This reservoir with a capacity of is located on the Apurimac River at its confluence with the Rio Hornillos and transfers the water through a long aqueduct to the Colca River. As part of Majes-Siguas II, another diversion at Lluclla can divert as much as in a long canal to the Pampa de Siguas.

Effects

The Majes-Siguas project allowed the irrigation of land, which were settled by about 2693 colonists, and the development of about 5700 households. As part of the second stage, a further expansion of in the Pampa de Majes and of in the Pampa de Siguas is envisaged. Also, the second stage foresees the development of about

, with hydropower plants being constructed along the aqueduct that transfers water from the Colca to the Siguas. The irrigated area has been planted with

artichoke The globe artichoke ('' Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green artich ...

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

cantaloupe The cantaloupe, rockmelon (Australia and New Zealand, although cantaloupe is used in some states of Australia), sweet melon, or spanspek (Southern Africa) is a melon that is a variety of the muskmelon species (''Cucumis melo'') from the fami ...

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North Americ ...

, garlic,

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

s, kiwicha,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

, paprika,

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, a ...

and

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es; also there is a dairy industry at Majes-Siguas. The total productivity of the project has been estimated to be , and Majes-Siguas is projected to yield a further

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

of per year, as well as benefitting 300,000 people. Water leaks and destabilization of the

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

ey soils by waters from sprinkler irrigation have caused landslides, sometimes approaching the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

, and concerns have been raised that the expansion of the Majes-Siguas project through Majes-Siguas II will aggravate the situation.

History

In 1971, the construction of the Majes-Siguas project was declared necessary by the decree No.18375 in order to develop Southern Peru and in the next year another decree classified it as a regional development project. Work began on the 3 October 1971; about were invested in the project. In 1982, the statutory corporation AUTODEMA was created in order to administer the project. In 2018, concerns were raised about corruption in AUTODEMA including fabricated expenses, resulting in an investigation by the Comptroller General of Peru. Between 2006 and 2010, the second stage of Majes-Siguas (Majes-Siguas II) was planned, including the development of an environmental impact statement for the Angostura Dam. An investment of - was projected for Majes-Siguas II. In 2014-2015, laws were enacted authorizing the acquisition of land for the construction of Majes-Siguas II, which was also declared a "project of public need". In 2014, were projected as investment in Majes-Siguas II, which is considered to be payable with the revenue from

and the newly cultivated land. The project is being carried out through a public-private partnership involving the state and the "Angostura-Siguas Consortium". The work on the Apurimac-Colca diversion project began in 2017, with a ceremony in the presence of the then Peruvian president

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

Political considerations

Generally, though, the execution of Majes-Siguas II has been stalled by the review process and by bureaucratic issues. In November 2018, a commission of the

Congress of Peru The Congress of the Republic of Peru ( es, Congreso de la República) is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Congress' composition is established by Chapter I of Title IV of the Constitution of Peru. Congress is compose ...

started investigating events surrounding Majes-Siguas II, including the delay but especially the decision by the Governor of Arequipa Region to modify the construction contract which raised the price of the project and the exact nature of this modification, which involved using pipelines instead of canals at a price exceeding . This change known as "Addendum 13" had been proposed after the project had met resistance by the people of

Espinar Province Espinar Province is one of thirteen provinces in the Cusco Region in the southern highlands of Peru. Geography Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below:escale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Espinar Province (Cusco Region) ...

which were afraid that the Angostura Dam would impact their own agricultural development. The technological change was aimed at reducing the water needs of Majes-Siguas II by reducing evaporation, but raised criticism by lawmakers about the extra cost to the state. Another question raised by the Governor of Arequipa is whether to allow lots of sizes less than ; the present-day arrangement disallows lots smaller than this as the project is

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

-oriented. The project has also engendered protests, first in the

Cuzco Region Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu suyu ), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de D ...

then in the

Caylloma Province Caylloma Province is the largest of eight provinces in the Arequipa Region of Peru. Geography The Chila mountain range traverses the province. One of the highest mountains of the province is Mismi. Other mountains are listed below: Politic ...

, the last one involving strikes and demands for better conditions in places where the Majes-Siguas project is being built.

References

Sources

* {{refend Water in Peru Irrigation in Peru