Peru: outwards and upwards
As Lima, Peru, hosts the 2013 XXX FICEM-APCAC Technical Congress on 2-4 September 2013, ICR takes a closer look at this Latin American country. A strong construction industry has kept cement producers busy in recent years and the global recession has had limited impact in Peru. Exports have also experienced steady growth, helping local works to sustain capacity utilisation rates despite the recent completion of plant expansions and new projects. The picture ahead promises yet more demand growth.
In contrast to the modest construction activity in the capital Lima, the building markets
of Peru’s regional towns such as Arequipa have registered large advances
Peru’s most recent decade is one of healthy economic expansion with 2012 recording 6.3 per cent growth, continuing a trend that has been part of the country’s make-up since 1998. Expectations for the years ahead are equally positive with GDP growth forecast at 6.3 per cent in 2013 and only mildly decelerating to six per cent by 2015.
With a 2012 growth rate of around 15.2 per cent, the construction sector leads the country’s economic expansion and is expected to continue to dominate GDP figures until 2015, when the hydrocarbon and mining sectors take over as main drivers of the country’s buoyant economy.
Geographically, the building sector sees its largest advance in the regions, while the capital and surroundings have registered minor growth.
