Abstract
Chile has a developed and efficient infrastructure network in recent years,
which has benefited from the
government' s export-driven development
strategy. The country' s physical infrastructure has improved
substantially
since the adoption of build-operate-transfer (BOT) concessions that allow the
active
participation of the private sector.
The prospect of operating
a planned US$400mn terminal at Chile' s San Antonio Port could see two of
the
world' s largest port operators, DP World and Hutchinson Port Holdings
(HPH), face off against one
other as both try to increase their Latin
American portfolios. Business News Americas quotes an unnamed
official
(November 2008) from San Antonio Port administrator Empresa Portuaria San
Antonio (Epsa)
as stating that both the Hong Kong-based HPH and UAE-based
DP World had expressed an interest in the
concession to operate and
develop the terminal. The tender for the concession is currently being
assessed
by Chile' s anti-trust tribunal, the TDLC, and is expected to be
awarded in Q309.
Meanwhile, the public works minister for Chile, Sergio
Bitar and the French ambassador for Chile,
Maryse Bossière, have
signed an agreement for airport development in Chile. The move reflects
growing
passenger air traffic in Chile which has resulted in a need to
expand capacity existing airports. The
agreement is for the French
government, along with French airport operator, Aéroport de Paris, to
provide technical and financial support and assistance for airport studies in
Chile for 2009. One of the key
airports which will benefit from the
agreements is the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport which
serves Santiago, Chile' s capital city.
In December 2008, Chile decided to
re-establish a railway line to Bolivia in order to provide the
landlocked
country with a cargo route to the sea. The 206km of railroad will be restored
from the Port of
Arica on the Chilean coast to the Bolivian border. The
construction work is scheduled to be completed by
September 2010 and will
involve investment of around US$23mn.BMI forecasts that Chile’s
construction
industry value will rise by a compound annual growth rate of
12.6% during 2008-2013, from a total value
of US$12.4bn in 2008 to
US$22.4bnbn in 2013. In 2008, we expect the sector to experience growth of
10.65%. This represents a decline in growth in the sector, from the rapid pace
experienced in previous
years (18.5% in 2007, 16% in 2006 and 10% in
2005).
The biggest company news in Q109 is that, MPX, a division of
Brazilian based EBX, has submitted an
environmental impact study (EIS) for
the development of a US$4.4bn, 2.4GW coal-fired Castilla power
plant in
Chile. The announcement follows concerns voiced by the World Bank over the
growing
proportion of coal and gas fired power plants in Latin America' s
power generating mix. The EIS was
submitted by MPX' s Chilean subsidiary,
MPX Energía de Chile. The proposed plans are for the
construction of
a thermoelectric complex, a coal fired power plant consisting of six 350MW
coal fired
units, an electrical substation and a desalination plant with a
capacity of 71,700m3 per day.
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