PPPs in Colombia and Peru: pipeline of over US$ 12 billion defines the Andean structuring map

Peru concentrates a PPP pipeline of US$ 12 billion with 80 initiatives in its portfolio

The Andean public-private partnership market is experiencing a moment of stark contrast. Peru has accumulated an estimated pipeline of US$ 12 billion spread across 80 initiatives, according to figures from ProInversión and BNamericas, positioning itself as the regional engine for infrastructure structuring under PPP frameworks. Colombia, on the other hand, is focusing its efforts on the continuity of previously awarded projects, without a comparable active pipeline of new tenders for the next cycle.

This divergence creates a scenario where structurers, financial advisors, and investment funds are recalibrating their strategies to capture opportunities across geographies with distinct regulatory frameworks and unequal fiscal horizons. The GRI Institute has identified this dynamic as one of the central discussion topics among infrastructure leaders in Latin America.

How does the new PPP law transform ProInversión's role in Peru?

The new PPP Law in Peru represents a structural shift in the governance of the country's infrastructure projects. The regulation expressly incorporates ProInversión as a public entity with project ownership rights, granting it the authority to formulate initiatives under the PPP model, develop technical studies, and sign contracts directly.

This institutional empowerment has immediate practical consequences. ProInversión ceases to be a mere facilitator of promotional processes and becomes an active agent with the capacity to originate, structure, and close projects. The agency already demonstrated its operational capacity by awarding 16 PPP and Asset Projects for the highest amount recorded in the last decade, according to data published by the entity itself in December 2025.

The regulatory impact translates into execution speed. With ProInversión enabled to lead the complete structuring chain, project maturation timelines tend to compress, which is attractive for structurers and funds seeking predictability in award schedules.

The target is ambitious: ProInversión aims to award 56 projects under the PPP model worth US$ 12 billion during 2026, according to information reported by BNamericas. If materialized, it would be the largest award cycle in the recent history of Peruvian infrastructure.

Players involved in fund structuring and concessions in Peru, such as José Miguel Rawlins, recognized for his track record in creating real estate and infrastructure investment vehicles through L2B Invest and Banchile, and José Luis Mogollón, with a background in sustainability management in concessions such as IIRSA Sur, operate in an ecosystem that the new regulation considerably expands. The depth of the Peruvian pipeline generates opportunities both in financial structuring and in the technical and legal advisory of transport, energy, and digital infrastructure projects.

What factors explain the slowdown in Colombia's PPP pipeline?

The Colombian landscape presents a different logic. The National Development Plan 2022-2026 sets the government's infrastructure objectives, but specialized legal reports indicate that the administration has prioritized the continuity and execution of existing projects over the structuring of an active pipeline of new PPPs.

This orientation responds to multiple factors. Colombia's macroeconomic environment imposes significant constraints. According to Munir Jalil, chief economist for the Andean region at BTG Pactual, Colombia's GDP growth is being revised downward with a projection of 2.1% for the 2026-2027 period, conditioned by persistent inflation and restrictive interest rates. These variables reduce the government's fiscal margin to assume future commitment obligations and increase the cost of capital for private structurers.

Jalil's analysis is particularly relevant because macroeconomic projections directly dictate the financial viability of PPPs. A high-rate environment raises long-term financing costs, compresses expected returns, and reduces institutional investors' appetite for capital commitments with horizons exceeding 20 years, which are characteristic of infrastructure concessions.

Nevertheless, Colombia maintains activity in specific high-relevance projects. The National Infrastructure Agency closed the bid submission period for the La Dorada-Chiriguaná railway PPP, according to information published by Cuatrecasas in November 2024. This railway project constitutes one of the most visible initiatives in the Colombian transport sector and reflects that, although the volume of new tenders has moderated, strategic projects remain on track.

Transport infrastructure: the projects defining the agenda

The transport sector concentrates the largest-scale initiatives in both countries. In Colombia, Tomás Elejalde, general manager of the Medellín Metro, leads the structuring and contingency management of key projects such as the Tren del Río and Line A, as reported by El Colombiano in October 2025. These urban railway infrastructure projects represent long-term bets that combine public financing, complex technical structuring, and PPP components at different stages of their development.

Elejalde's profile illustrates a recurring figure in the Andean market: the public-technical manager operating at the intersection of project engineering and financial structuring. His role at the Medellín Metro positions him as a central interlocutor for investors and structurers evaluating opportunities in the Antioquia railway corridor.

In Peru, ProInversión's pipeline encompasses transport, energy, and digital infrastructure projects, although the specific sectoral distribution of the 80 initiatives has not been publicly detailed in its entirety. The diversification of the Peruvian portfolio offers multiple entry points for structurers with differentiated sectoral specialization.

Comparative regulatory frameworks: predictability versus fiscal prudence

The comparison between the regulatory frameworks of Peru and Colombia reveals two philosophies of public infrastructure management. Peru bets on institutional acceleration, equipping ProInversión with legal tools to act as project owner and executor. Colombia opts for fiscal prudence, prioritizing the completion of existing commitments in a restrictive macroeconomic environment.

Both strategies have merits and risks. The aggressiveness of the Peruvian pipeline demands institutional capacity to simultaneously manage dozens of complex processes without compromising structuring quality. Colombian caution protects fiscal sustainability but may generate infrastructure gaps if the pause in new awards extends beyond the current economic cycle.

For structurers and advisors operating in the Andean region, the contrast generates a dynamic of complementarity. Technical and legal teams with the capacity to operate in both jurisdictions can diversify their mandate portfolios, capturing volume in Peru and technical depth in the specific projects that Colombia keeps active.

Outlook for private capital in Andean infrastructure

The volume of the Peruvian pipeline, exceeding US$ 10 billion, constitutes an unmistakable signal for institutional capital seeking exposure to Latin American infrastructure. Investment funds, development banks, and specialized financial advisors find in Peru a market with sufficient scale to justify the mobilization of dedicated teams.

Colombia, for its part, offers selective opportunities in projects of high technical and financial complexity, where competition for mandates tends to be lower and barriers to entry higher. The La Dorada-Chiriguaná railway PPP and the Medellín Metro projects exemplify this profile.

Sector leaders participating in GRI Institute meetings have noted that the ability to navigate distinct regulatory frameworks within the same region has become a decisive competitive advantage. Jurisdictional specialization, combined with deep knowledge of institutional actors in each country, defines who captures the most relevant structuring mandates.

The Andean PPP market is not read as a homogeneous block. It is read project by project, regulation by regulation, and structurer by structurer. That granularity is precisely what makes it one of the most dynamic segments of Latin American infrastructure.