SOUTH AMERICA

Chile boosts port infrastructure

12 years ago

Chiles Under-secretary for Transport, Cristián Bowen, has announced that the government is to introduce a series of port upgrades over the next 20 years as a means of boosting competitiveness.

By 2030, Chile will have invested $4.1bn in increasing capacity, mainly at the ports of Iquique, San Antonio and Valparaíso, while also improving the road and rail logistics support, at a cost of $820m by 2017.

Ultramar has announced investment of $85m in Valparaíso’s Terminal Pacífico Sur (TPS). Within four to five years, it is hoped that the terminal will be able to respond competitively to changing market conditions. Permission has already been given to extend Terminal 1 by 120 metres and deepen its draft to 16.5 metres. At the same time, berths 4 and 5 are to undergo anti-seismic structural reinforcement. By mid-2015, it is also to introduce the Navis TOS at a cost of $4m.

Separately, on October 25, Oxxean opened a new multi-purpose port, Oxxean Terminal Marítimo, in Chile’s southern Los Lagos region. The facility is equipped with 1,700 metres of quay and offers draft of up to 13 metres. This initial development phase cost $30m, although the master plan envisages investment of up to $100m.