Brookfield Asset Management Ltd
will cease operating a series of troubled roads
at the end of Wednesday, after running out of cash due to court orders that suspended collection of toll payments.
Brookfield’s subsidiary, Rutas de Lima, has been mired in conflict with
for years, which alleges the
concession was
under previous ownership and should be revoked. The roads involved are the two main highways in and out of Lima.
Brookfield and Lima are still
in what is one of the highest-profile infrastructure disputes in Latin America. But local Peruvian courts have cut out Rutas de Lima’s ability to charge tolls in virtually all of its booths. “It is materially impossible to continue operating the concession roads,” Rutas de Lima said in a statement.
The city of Lima said it is ready to take over the day-to-day running of the highways and will not charge any tolls for the foreseeable future. Rafael Lopez-Aliaga became mayor of Lima in 2023 promising to end Brookfield’s toll contract and recently resigned the post to run for the presidency, claiming victory over the asset manager.
The toll roads concession was initially granted to Brazilian builder
, which in 2016 admitted
in Latin America including Peru. But Odebrecht hasn’t admitted corruption in the particular case of Rutas de Lima, which Brookfield bought control of the same year. The former mayor who granted Odebrecht the concession, Susana Villaran, is currently standing trial for corruption over the issue. Villaran denies any wrongdoing.
Rutas de Lima has won several arbitration awards against Lima, while Peruvian courts have usually sided with the city. Brookfield has separately taken the nation of Peru to arbitration, claiming US$2.7 billion in damages over what it considers to be the illegal expropriation of its concession.
—With assistance from Layan Odeh.