The Lima-Ica rail corridor, spanning 280 kilometers and connecting Lima to Ica, offers a transformative platform for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). With 15 strategically located stations, this corridor can catalyze the development of sub-regional hubs, balancing urban growth and fostering economic opportunities. Chilca station in particular, serving its surounding heterogeneous activities, emerges as a critical node in this framework due to its strategic location and industrial potential.

The Plan de Desarrollo Local Concertado (PDLC) 2018-2028 for Chilca1 aligns seamlessly with TOD principles, emphasizing urban growth management to accommodate population expansion and industrial activity while enhancing livability. The plan integrates updated zoning regulations and planned urban expansions, aiming to create compact, walkable neighborhoods with mixed-use developments in sectors near the planned station. This includes allocating space for residential, commercial, and recreational purposes.

Key strategies from Chilca’s urban growth management include fostering already exixting industrial expansion, particularly in logistics and energy sectors (city gate for gas supply pipeline), which complements the district’s role as a transit and economic hub along the corridor. The development of intermodal connectivity, such as integrating the rail station with local transport options, aligns with TOD goals. However, the current operation of buses, taxis, and motorcycle-sharing system is informal. Addressing this informality in Chilca and aligning them with formal TOD strategies requires a comprehensive approach that considers social, economic, and political dimensions.

Along with established industrial and logistic activities, informal sector is particularly widespread in local housing and transportation sectors. A strategy on the corridor that address comprehesively TOD, should consider this hybrid space-developing regime. In this regard, a strategy on incentives for transition towards the upgraded transportation system, can provide the conditions of possibility to implement TOD in Chilca. Considering the actual situation and needs in the territory is required to implement the corridor. The following measures are suggested to be included into the corridor strategy:

  1. Provide subsidies or microfinance for upgrading fleets to meet safety and environmental standards.

  2. Allocate space and resources for informal operators within intermodal hubs to allow gradual integration into formal systems.

  3. Establish financial incentives such as tax breaks or low-interest loans for those transitioning into the formal sector.

  4. Support informal operators with technology such as digital ticketing or app-based service tracking to improve reliability and integration.

  5. Establish clear guidelines for licensing and operating requirements for buses, taxis, and bicycle-sharing systems to reduce ambiguity in the informal sector.

  6. Form local transportation boards that include representatives from informal transit groups, government, and civil society to co-create policies and monitor implementation.

By consolidating Chilca territory as a planned sub-regional hub, the Lima-Ica corridor can redistribute development pressures from Lima, promote equitable growth, and position Chilca as a vibrant node connecting urban, industrial, and transport ecosystems.

Reference

  1. Municipalidad Distrital de Chilca. Plan de Desarrollo Local Concertado (PDLC) 2018-2028. https://www.gob.pe/institucion/munichilca/informes-publicaciones/4100418-plan-de-desarrollo-local-concertado-pdlc-mdch ↩