The Peruvian Congress recently approved a USD48.2 billion national budget for 2022, with USD1.83 billion allocated to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Most of the budget is aligned with President Pedro Castillo's priorities and will fund social services, including 29.8% of the budget directed towards education, 14.2% for transportation, and 14% for health.
The MoD said its portion, which is roughly the same amount as allocated for 2021, will cover several modernisation programmes, including plans to finish the construction of two small riverine transport vessels for the army. The vessels, locally known as motochatas, are being built by the Peruvian state-run SIMA shipyard in the Iquitos, Loreto region. They will be named Cáceres and Bolognesi, and will transport up to 200 tonnes of equipment and supplies to army outposts along the borders with Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador that cannot be reached by land, as well as assisting riverine civilian populations. The two vessels will complete an order of six riverine vessels SIMA is building for the service.
During an interview with Janes, a retired senior Peruvian army officer explained that the new motochatas will replace some vessels “that are around 60 years-old”, making their replacement a priority for the service.
Other defence projects slated to occur in 2022 include repairs to the BAP Chipana (SS-34) submarine , expanding a military base in Callao province, and acquiring trucks to transport water, according to a 23 November press release by the Peruvian defence ministry.
The retired officer said the budget for the MoD is inadequate and hinders the services from adequately carrying out their numerous missions, which include humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations.
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