It's the longest bridge ever built in Peru, and so far, it goes nowhere

It’s the longest bridge ever built in Peru, and so far, it goes nowhere

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Vendors and moto-taxi drivers gather near an unfinished portion of a federal highway project on the Nanay bridge in Iquitos, Peru, Sunday, May 26, 2024. The project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, fearing that the construction will lead to land grabbing, deforestation and drug trafficking. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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A highway bridge that is part of a federal highway project, extends across the Nanay River, background, as a resident walks along a boarded path in the Punchana district of Iquitos, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Construction work is at a standstill as the government conducts a study of the area, but the Ministry of Transportation has already built what is the country’s largest bridge, which extends 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) over the Nanay, a tributary of the Amazon River. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijuna youth Cliver Padilla walks with his wife and daughter to the outskirts of the town to hunt animals for the day’s meals, in Sucusari, Peru, Thursday, May 30, 2024. In the community of thatched houses, the routine of the some 180 inhabitants is mostly traditional. They fish, hunt and grow fruit for local markets, mostly aguaje, an Amazon delicacy. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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A youth jumps off the footing of a bridge that is part of a federal highway project, extending over the Nanay River in Iquitos, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Construction work is at a standstill as the government conducts a study of the area, but the Ministry of Transportation has already built what is the country’s largest bridge, which extends 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) over the Nanay, a tributary of the Amazon River. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Lindaura Pinedo Rios heads out on her boat to attend a funeral service for a Maijuna elder, in Sucusari, Peru, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijuna youth Arely Riategui smiles while sitting in a hammock inside her home in Sucusari, Peru, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Members of the Padilla family prepare fried bananas for breakfast in Sucusari, Peru, Thursday, May 30, 2024. In the community of thatched houses, the routine of the some 180 inhabitants is mostly traditional. They fish, hunt and grow fruit for local markets, mostly aguaje, an Amazon delicacy. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijuna children sit at the bow of a boat as they return from a burial service, in Sucusari, Peru, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijuna youth Segundo Jeinsen bathes in a stream in Sucusari, Peru, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijuna Indigenous Justo Padilla sleeps in a hammock inside his home in Sucusari, Peru, Thursday, May 30, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Vendors set up food stands under a bridge that is part of a federal highway project that extends over the Nanay River, in Iquitos, Peru, Monday, May 27, 2024. The project, which spans 188 kilometers (117 miles), is intended to connect Iquitos, the main city in Peru’s Amazon, with the El Estrecho district on the Colombian border. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Murui youth Juan Ochoa, a school police officer, sits inside his classroom at the secondary school in Centro Arenal, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Murui. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijuna youth Miguel splashes water toward his father Teodoro Flores who bathes in a stream in Sucusari, Peru, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijuna mourners gather around the coffin that contains the remains of Rosario Rios during her burial service in the cemetery of Sucusari, Peru, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijunas bury the coffin that contains the remains of community member Rosario Rios, at the cemetery in Sucusari, Peru, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Murui students attend their native language class at a secondary school in Centro Arenal, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Murui. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Murui woman Zoila Ochoa Garay cries as she tells a member of the OnePlanet NGO team about the threats her family has received from land invaders that she believes is due to the construction of a new federal highway that crosses their communal territories, in Centro Arenal, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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A moto-taxi driver rests on the railing of a federal highway bridge that extends over the Nanay River, in Iquitos, Peru, Monday, May 27, 2024. The project, which spans 188 kilometers (117 miles), is intended to connect Iquitos, the main city in Peru’s Amazon, with the El Estrecho district on the Colombian border. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Murui Indigenous Gino Pinedo feeds a spoonful of rice to his 1-year-old daughter Camila, inside their home, in Centro Arenal, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Murui. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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A moto-taxi driver crosses a bridge, part of a federal highway project that extends over the Nanay River, in Iquitos, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. The project, which spans 188 kilometers (117 miles), is intended to connect Iquitos, the main city in Peru’s Amazon, with the El Estrecho district on the Colombian border. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Muruis push a cargo tricycle stuck in the mud on the proposed path of a federal highway to be built from Iquitos to El Estrecho district, Centro Arenal, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. The highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Murui. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Murui Indigenous Liz Alvarado stirs a pot of majaz stew over an open-fire in Centro Arenal, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Murui. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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A Murui farmer laughs while heading to harvest bananas on her farm located along the proposed route of a federal highway to be built from Iquitos to El Estrecho district, Centro Arenal, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. The federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Murui. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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The Ochoa family, from left: Tommy, 4, Sebastian, 71, Iasnita, 7, and Ashley, 14, eat breakfast in their home in Sucusari, Peru, Thursday, May 30, 2024. In the community of thatched houses, the routine of the some 180 inhabitants is mostly traditional. They fish, hunt and grow fruit for local markets, mostly aguaje, an Amazon delicacy. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Maijuna Indigenous Jorge Machoa returns to his home after harvesting bananas for consumption and to market, in Sucusari, Peru, Thursday, May 30, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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A Maijuna youth paddles his canoe on a stream in Sucusari, Peru, Thursday, May 30, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Maijuna. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Murui youth Emerita does her Religious Studies homework while sitting in a hammock at her home in Centro Arenal, Peru, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. A federal highway project in an untouched area of the Peruvian Amazon is facing mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes, including the Murui. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Mannequins and soft drinks are displayed for sale at a shop in the port city of Iquitos, Peru, Thursday, May 30, 2024. The federal highway project, which spans 188 kilometers (117 miles), is intended to connect Iquitos, the main city in Peru´s Amazon, with the El Estrecho district on the Colombian border. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Residents drive on a bridge, part of a federal highway project that extends over the Nanay River, in Iquitos, Peru, Sunday, May 26, 2024. Construction work is at a standstill as the government conducts a study of the area, but the Ministry of Transportation has already built what is the country’s largest bridge, which extends 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) over the Nanay, a tributary of the Amazon River. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

By RODRIGO ABD

SUCUSARI, Peru (AP) — It is the longest bridge ever built in Peru, a massive structure of cement and iron spanning the Nanay River as it connects to untouched areas of the Peruvian Amazon

So far, it goes nowhere.

The bridge is part of a federal highway project to connect Iquitos, in Peru’s northeast, to the El Estrecho district on the Colombian border, in total some 188 kilometers (117 miles). It faces mounting opposition from Indigenous tribes who fear that the construction will lead to land grabbing, deforestation and drug trafficking, which have plagued similar projects across the world´s largest rainforest.

“The highway will kill us,” Everest Ochoa, a member of the Maijuna indigenous group that lives in the Peruvian Amazon, told The Associated Press. “We have to stop this project for the sake of our children, to protect the land for them.”

Construction work is at a standstill as the government conducts a study of the area, but the Ministry of Transportation has already built the country’s largest bridge, which extends 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) over the Nanay River, a tributary of the Amazon River.

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Indigenous leaders say the communities along the highway route have not been consulted.

“The government didn’t ask us anything about the highway passing through our territory and we want our rights to be respected”, said community leader Artur Francis Cruz Ochoa.

His community, Nuevo Arenal, is next to the bridge and has already suffered, he said. “Drugs have already started to infiltrate our community, young people are already consuming them. With the construction of the highway, it will get worse.”

In the village of Sucusari, also near the future path of the road, people echo the same fears. It is a community of thatched houses, where the 180 inhabitants live a traditional lifestyle, fishing, hunting and growing fruit for local markets, mostly aguaje, an Amazon delicacy.

“We will lose land, animals, fish, the water will be contaminated, and the forest. If the forest is lost, we won’t have water. We won’t have life without water,” said Sebastian Rios Ochoa. “With the highway, the abundance we have now will end.”

In a written message to AP, the Ministry of Transportation said the project’s objective is to connect people along the path and promote local economies, strengthen trade and help bring security to border areas.

The ministry said the construction of the bridge is considered an infrastructure project for public services and, as such, is not required to undergo prior consultation with the Indigenous tribes, according to Peru’s legislation.

The Iquitos-El Estrecho is the largest and most expensive highway construction in Peru´s Amazon, according to a recent report by Peruvian Society of Environmental Law, a nonprofit. The report says there has already been land-grabbing and deforestation in Indigenous lands.

The highway will cross two protected areas, Maijuna Kichwa and Ampiyacu Apayacu, which cover about 8,000 square kilometers (3,000 square miles) of old-growth forest, according to the report.

Zoila Ochoa Garay, 58, cries inconsolably when she speaks about her community of Nuevo Arenal, where the first stretch of the highway begins.

“Since this highway project began, people have been invading our community’s land,” she said. “There is no justice here.”

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Fabiano Maisonnave in Brasilandia, Brazil, contributed to this report.

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