diversion tunnel
Introduction
The Olmos Special Irrigation and Hydroenergy Project, inaugurated in 2014 in the district of Olmos, department of Lambayeque, consists of the transfer of the waters of the Huancabamba River "Río Huancabamba (Piura)") from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side through a 20 km trans-Andean tunnel for its use in the irrigation of barren lands and the generation hydropower, which will allow irrigating 43,500 (Ha) of vacant land. The initial value of the project to be executed in 2004 was 184 million dollars, however by 2014 the work was completed costing 580 million dollars.[1].
The work is a self-sustaining private initiative. Part of the tasks of the Transfer component includes the Limón Dam (5°53'53.7"S 79°33'01.5"W) 43 m high, whose objective was to create a reservoir to regulate the seasonal flows of the Huancabamba River "Río Huancabamba (Piura)") and then divert the waters through the trans-Andean tunnel, the trans-Andean tunnel was the most difficult work of Olmos, as it passed under the Andes mountain range,[2] guaranteeing water supply for land users. The total volume of the reservoir is 44 hm³, with the useful volume being 30 hm³.
The main objective of the project is the creation of a hub for economic development and the improvement of the living conditions of the population in the arid north of the country.
History
In 1920, during the government of President Augusto Leguía, Engineer Charles Sutton proposed the great Project and then Manuel Mesones from Ferreñafa laid the foundations for the rural development of Lambayeque, by proposing the transfer of the waters of the Huancabamba River from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side through a trans-Andean tunnel, for the irrigation of the Olmos lands. Later, with the studies of Engineers Antúnez de Mayolo and Lisandro Mercado, the Project became the Olmos Irrigation and Hydroenergy Project.
During the Velasco Government, two Soviet companies carried out a Definitive Study considered the cornerstone of the project's viability. Work on the trans-Andean tunnel began in the late 1970s but was stopped due to lack of funds.
Finally, with President Alejandro Toledo and the regional president of Lambayeque Yehude Simón, the project was put into international public competition. On July 22, 2004, the Peruvian Government, through the Regional Government of Lambayeque (GRL), signed the Concession Contract for the Transfer component with the company "Concesionaria Trasvase Olmos SA, a subsidiary of Odebretch, for an initial value of 184 million dollars. Six years later, on June 11, 2010, with the presence of President Alan García and the President of the Region Nery Saldarriaga, The Regional Government of Lambayeque signed a Concession contract with H2Olmos SA known as Odebretch for the concession of the Irrigation component of the Project for 222 million dollars in 2010.