Chilean terminal concession

Loc

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ed in Tarapaca’s region, in the North of Chile, public terminal Pier 1 Molo is presently oper

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ed by a number of priv

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e stevedoring companies which provide cargo handling services for general cargo imports and exports, including some containers.

Alfredo Leiton, general manager, Empresa Portuaria Iquique (EPI), told Port Str

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egy th

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both intern

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ional and Chilean terminal oper

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ors have shown interest in bidding so far.

“EPI is looking

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two investment options for the new concessionaire: the construction of a new berth, or the extension of Terminal Molo. Both aim to prepare the port for receiving the new gener

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ion of vessels, but EPI will favour the offer th

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goes for the first option,” Mr Leiton said.

The concession will last for 30 years, the maximum allowed by Chilean law. The plan is for the eventual concessionaire to increase the capacity of the Pier 1 terminal, adding a new berth for post-panamax vessels.

EPI has experienced the benefits of its Pier 2 container terminal priv

at

is

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ion which has oper

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ed under a 30 year concession with Iquique Terminal Internacional (ITI) since 2000.

ITI is 85% owned by Sudamericana Agencias Aereas y Maritimas (SAAM) and 15% owned by Empresas Navieras (AGUNSA), part of Chile’s Urenda group.

Iquique has the largest Free Trade Zone in South America, the “Andean Macro Region”, a zone th

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comprises Bolivia, Paraguay, the North of Argentina and Southeast Brazil. It is a major centre for minerals, le

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her, seeds and soy exports. Additionally, mining investments in the Tarapaca region are expected to reach US$13.5m over the next 15 years.

The terms of the tender are being reviewed by Chile’s Free Competence Defense Court (Tribunal de la Libre Competencia, TDLC en Chile). More infom

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ion on the concession can be found

at

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