Arequipa

Located in the south of Peru, the department of Arequipa shares its border with six other departments, including Ica and Ayacucho to the north-west, Apurímac and Cusco to the north, and Puno and Moquegua to the south-east. The population of Arequipa is set to reach a total of 1.3m people in 2017, representing 4.1% of the country’s population. In 2015 Arequipa had about 693,100 economically active people, down from an approximate 700,200 in 2014. In the third trimester of 2016 Arequipa’s economy grew by 29.3%, with the highest growth sectors including mining, which contributed 19.9%, followed by telecommunications and information services at 9.7%, other services (4.7%), and transport, storage, mail and messaging (3.9%). The outlook for Arequipa appears positive and the present government has taken measures to attract private investment.

This chapter features interviews with Yamila Osorio Delgado, Regional President of Arequipa; Diego Muñoz-Nájar, President, Arequipa Chamber of Commerce; and Michael Michell, Executive President, Michell Group.