Cusco struggles to translate S/ 33 billion in gas revenues into infrastructure development amid planning failures

Cusco has received over S/ 33 billion in gas-related revenues over the past twenty years, yet infrastructure deficits and social development gaps persist across multiple provinces. Fernando Santoyo, president of the Cusco Chamber of Commerce, calculated that these resources could have financed 62 high-performance schools, 46 regional hospitals, two international airports, and approximately 900 kilometers of paved roads. Instead, a significant portion of the funds was distributed across small-scale projects lacking structural impact, according to his assessment at the Peru Energía Cusco event.

The inefficiency in resource deployment becomes evident when comparing outcomes across different provinces. Epifanio Baca, executive coordinator at Grupo Propuesta Ciudadana, noted that several provinces receiving fewer resources demonstrate similar or superior results to areas heavily benefited by gas canon revenues. Baca emphasized that having substantial financial resources does not guarantee development outcomes, pointing to clear inefficiency problems in the public investment system. The challenge lies in strengthening the articulation between planning processes, budget allocation, and actual investment execution.

Santoyo stressed the necessity of prioritizing strategic investments capable of generating greater population-level impact rather than continuing the pattern of fragmented spending. The region’s primary challenge has shifted from revenue generation to converting those resources into tangible development outcomes for residents. Both specialists agreed that Cusco’s future depends on maintaining energy sustainability while continuing to promote exploration investments.

Arturo Vásquez, research director and principal professor at Gerens Graduate School, underscored that Peru needs to advance planning and investment initiatives to ensure resource availability and energy security for coming decades. The discussions at Peru Energía Cusco reflected consensus among sector representatives that natural gas could have served as a regional development lever, but institutional weaknesses in planning and execution have prevented the effective closure of infrastructure and competitiveness gaps. The region now confronts the imperative of reforming public investment mechanisms to achieve long-term development objectives with remaining and future gas revenues.