Peru's APUCORP launches Tumbes River dredging: 180,600 cubic meters to be dredged

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 28, Peru's Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, the National Water Authority (ANA), the Tumbes Regional Government, and APUCORP launched the cleaning and dredging works on the Puente Francos river section in the Pampas de Hospital district of the Tumbes region. The plan is to clean and dredge approximately 180,600 cubic meters of river channel and remove approximately 198,660 cubic meters of sediment and surplus material, with construction focused on sediment within the riverbed and accumulation areas affecting the flow cross-section. The works primarily serve flood risk prevention and control for the Tumbes River during the 2026–2027 rainy season.

The construction is being advanced under a special cooperation agreement signed between Peru's National Water Authority and the Centro de Desarrollo Comunal Alto Andino (CEDEC), which is affiliated with the APUCORP system. APUCORP has deployed 12 dump trucks, 2 loaders, and 1 D7 bulldozer to the site, along with machinery operators, and is also covering fuel supply, equipment maintenance, and repair costs during construction. The National Water Authority is responsible for technical coordination related to river channel management and water resource management, while the local government participates in on-site organization and disaster prevention coordination.

Puente Francos is located in the Pampas de Hospital area in the middle and lower reaches of the Tumbes River. Previous on-site inspections by the National Water Authority found that soil material accumulation and artificially formed earth masses within the river channel in this area have compressed the effective flow cross-section of the river. Technical inspection records from 2024 show that the river channel was compressed at Puente Francos and nearby sections such as La Polvareda, with some of the accumulated material directly affecting the flow space around the bridge and existing bank protection facilities.

The Tumbes region has long been listed as a key river channel cleaning and flood control management area in Peru. In the El Niño prevention intervention plan previously published by the National Water Authority, a total of 29 priority areas requiring river channel and gully cleaning and dredging were identified in the Tumbes region, with river dredging, bank protection works, and restoration of flood discharge capacity listed as the main management measures. Under this plan, the budget for river channel cleaning and structural flood control works in the Tumbes area for 2024–2025 exceeds 142 million soles.

On September 15, APUCORP announced its cooperation arrangement with the National Water Authority, specifying that the construction site is located at the Puente Francos river section and that the work includes riverbed cleaning and sediment removal. After machinery officially entered the site on September 28, 12 dump trucks are responsible for transporting sediment away, two loaders handle riverbed material loading, and the D7 bulldozer is used for river channel shaping and soil pushing, forming a complete construction organization from river channel excavation and loading to transport and disposal.

Agricultural production areas, residential settlements, bridges, and bank protection facilities are distributed along the Tumbes River, and the Puente Francos river section also serves the traffic and flood discharge functions around Pampas de Hospital. Upon completion, the works will restore part of the river channel cross-section occupied by sediment. The construction scope directly covers three types of operations: riverbed cleaning, sediment transfer, and river channel shaping, and the participating units will continue to carry out subsequent river channel maintenance in conjunction with rainy season water conditions.