Peru Infrastructure Sector Assessment (P178088) - December 2022 - Motivation

Jul 19, 2026

Peru Infrastructure Sector Assessment (P178088) highlights how road infrastructure deficits undermine competitiveness through high logistics costs, limited rural connectivity, and preventable road safety outcomes. It quantifies road transport injuries as a leading cause of death for men aged 15–49 and notes large mortality on Peruvian roads. The assessment links rural accessibility to income, agricultural land values, and improved access to health services via better all-season road connectivity measured by the Rural Access Index (RAI).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages39

Reading Time1 h 38 min

Motivation

Road infrastructure, competitiveness, and logistics

Road safety and human capital

Rural accessibility and the Rural Access Index (RAI)

Multisectoral rural infrastructure strategy

Peru country context: economic growth and poverty

Implications for productivity and food security

Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized PERÚ InfraSAP Peru Infrastructure Sector Assessment (P178088) Authorized Pub lic Disclosure December 2022 Motivation Road infrastructure deficits impact competitiveness. Logistics cost share in the value of the product in Peru, among the highest in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. Road safety has an important role in human capital preservation Road transport injuries in Peru are the single most important cause of death of men in their most productive years of life (15-49) and rank as the 4th most important cause of death among women of the same age group (compared to 8th in 1990) . Overall, about 4,800 people were estimated to have died on Peru’s roads in 2019 (IHME, 2019) . Access to basic infrastructure services in rural areas of Peru and elsewhere has been a key determinant in promoting income-generating opportunities, strengthening social capital and, ultimately, reducing poverty. As part of impact evaluation studies conducted in 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2011 of World Bank-financed rural road projects in Peru,* the improvement of rural accessibility and the resulting reductions in travel time resulted in major benefits for the poorest and previously isolated areas in the Andean provinces in terms of increased farm workers’income, agricultural land prices, and number of health consultations. In terms of connectivity, the interventions aimed to increase the access of rural population to an all-season road, known as the Rural Access Index (RAI) .** The case for a multisectoral rural infrastructure strategy and coordinated rural infrastructure “packages” Improving competitiveness through better transport infrastructure connectivity and logistics services has been the main driver of the recent official strategic plans at the national and subnational levels, such as the Plan for the Subnational Development of Transportation Infrastructure, Services, and Logistics (PROREGIÓN) which targets feeder road corridors (CVA, for the Spanish acronym) in the Departmental Road Network to improve the connections between regional production centers for 21 agricultural value chains prioritized by the GoP with national logistics corridors and distribution centers. However, there is still a lack of a multisectoral rural infrastructure strategy that would allow to tap the productive potential and increase the competitiveness of these regions while also considering territorial economic and social priorities and constrains. Access to various types of infrastructure in Peru has been found to generate higher incomes than the sum of the individual benefits (Urrunaga and Aparicio, 2012; Escobal and Torero, 2004) . Previous research has found important complementarities in access to basic infrastructure services: joint investment in roads, education, health, and electrification would allow increases in income of 34 percent, mainly due to an increase in hours worked and the diversification of activities. *PE-Rural Roads Rehabilitation and Maintenance—P037047 (1995–2001); PE-Second Rural Roads Project—P044601 (2001–06); PE-Peru Decentralized Rural Transport Project—P095570 [PTRD](2007–13); PE-Regional Transport Infrastructure Decentralization—P078813 (2006–14); and PE-Support to the Subnational Transport Program Project [PATS](2015–ongoing) . ** The RAI is a measure of the percentage of the rural population in a project area who live within 2 kilometers (typically equivalent to a 20-minute walk) of an all-season road. An all-season road is motorable all year by the prevailing means of rural transport. Country context: Economic growth, poverty • Peru’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth and poverty reduction slowed markedly after the end of the commodity boom. In 2002-2013, Peru grew at an average rate of 6.1 percent per year. Between 2014 and 2019, mining prices were less favorable, and growth slowed to an average of 3.1 percent. • After

FAQs

Why are road infrastructure deficits considered a competitiveness problem in Peru?

Road deficits increase logistics costs and weaken connectivity, which affects how product value is delivered and supported by transport services.

What is the role of rural road accessibility in improving outcomes?

Improved accessibility and reduced travel time increase income for the poorest and previously isolated areas, raise agricultural land prices, and expand access to health consultations.

How is the Rural Access Index (RAI) defined?

RAI measures the share of the rural population in a project area living within 2 kilometers—typically a 20-minute walk—of an all-season road.

Jul 19, 2026

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