Cusco works with S, Korean state company for smart city on Peruvian airport site

By Lim Chang-won Posted : October 27, 2020, 14:52 Updated : October 27, 2020, 14:52

This file image shows a general view of Cusco [Gettyimages Bank]

SEOUL -- Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), a state corporation responsible for the development of land, will cooperate with the city of Cusco in southeastern Peru for the construction of a smart city on the site of an old airport that will go out of service if a new airport is completed.

Peru is building the new airport in Chinchero as Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cusco gets crowded due to growing demands for travelers, especially to Machu Picchu. Construction will be completed in 2024. The Peruvian city hopes to develop a smart city on the site of the Astete airport.

LH said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Cusco to cooperate in the development of a smart city. The company is working on a basic plan with Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), a state body that supports Korean companies for project planning, feasibility studies, project information and project bankability.

"This agreement will pave the way for entering the Peruvian market by discovering cooperative projects in Peru's urban and housing development sectors," LH CEO Byeon Chang-heum said in a statement on October 27. "We will further expand opportunities to enter the Latin American market by establishing cooperative relations with other Latin American countries."

In 2019, a South Korean consortium of private enterprises and state bodies was selected as the preferred bidder for a contract to oversee and manage the construction of a new airport near Cuzco on behalf of the Peruvian government. The consortium will be in charge of contract management, design review, quality control and the selection of builders.

The consortium led by Korea Airports Corp. (KAC), which runs terminals at Incheon International Airport west of Seoul, aims to build a smart airport in Peru by utilizing advanced technologies such as the biometric authentication of passengers and artificial intelligence.

 
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