In Peru, the new port of Chancay has a tunnel designed by SYSTRA

Located 80km north of Lima, the port of Chancay will be Peru’s new commercial gateway. Built at the foot of a hill, the tunnel under the town of Peralvillo will provide a vital link between the port and the warehouses, as well as with the Pan-American North motorway. 

Since 2019, our subsidiary SYSTRA Subterra has been involved in this project as the company responsible for design studies and technical assistance during the works. On August 5 this year, 10 days ahead of schedule, the tunnel boring was completed. The project has thus established itself as a new benchmark in complex underground infrastructure, remarkable for its speed of construction. 

The lithology of the Chancay coast is the main challenge of this project: we had to dig in a loose medium and, to support the tunnel entrance on the industrial estate side, we dug a vertical vault to reinforce the structure. There is still a long way to go to complete the work, but the two sides of the tunnel are now connected. Congratulations to all our on-site teams. 

Irene Croche Picón, Head of the Construction Engineering department, SYSTRA Subterra

The port of Chancay, Latin America’s future giant

Built as part of the Belt and Road Initiative by the Chinese port operator Cosco, the port of Chancay will redraw the map of South American logistics. The terminal will save 10 days’ transport time for trade between Asia and South America, as ships must currently sail all the way to Brazil to unload. The port’s initial capacity will be 1 million containers a year – twice that of the French port of Le Havre – and this will eventually rise to 5 million, twice that of Rotterdam, Europe’s leading port. 

This major port will also be equipped with 15 quays capable of receiving the world’s largest container ships, a breakwater to cut the waves, and an efficient connection to the hinterland via the road tunnel designed by SYSTRA. Container loading and unloading will be fully automated to speed up operations and increase safety. Inauguration is scheduled for November this year, with the first arrivals at the quayside scheduled for early 2025. 

A multimodal tunnel to meet Sino-Preuvian logistics ambitions

The tunnel dug for the Chancay Port Operations Zone (ZOP) is in itself a multimodal access point. It combines traffic lanes for vehicles, two conveyor belts for raw materials and several multi-product pipelines. It will be the ZOP’s only access route to the hinterland, and the industrial complex gateway to the interior.  

The project’s infrastructure also includes a viaduct, 10 road access routes, building consolidation and the installation of pavements.