Coordinator: Chiloe bridge bidding slated for Apr.

The new deadline to submit technical and economic offers for the Chiloe Island bridge project is April 15, Camilo Rojas, concessions coordinator for Chile's public works ministry (MOP), was quoted as saying in Estrategia. Early last month, the MOP postponed the February 27 deadline after the finance ministry approved a new business model for the concession project whereby the government acts as guarantor. Previous deadlines had been in September and October, while an earlier call resulted in no bids. In order for the government to act as guarantor, bidders will have to carry out new geological studies, and, if the project proves technically feasible, detailed engineering studies. Rojas acknowledged that due to the complexity of the project, many companies may not participate. "We would like to have 10 bidders, but today we believe we can have two, maybe one." The project entails building a 2.64km four-lane traffic bridge across the Chacao Canal to Chiloe, as well as some 13.5km of access roads on either side. Chiloe has some 50,000 permanent inhabitants and is heavily touristed in the summer months. The concessionaire would operate the bridge for 30 years, recouping investment through tolls. Studies in 2002 estimated that some 3,000 vehicles/day would initially use the bridge, increasing to 15,000 in 2040. Consorcio Puente Bicentenario (Germany's Hochtief, the US' American Bridge and Chilean firms Besalco and Tecsa), Sweden's Skanska, France's Vinci and Grupo Challenger (France's Bouygues, Travaux Publics, the UK's Cleveland, Chile's Delta, Japan's IHI and France's Egis), are listed on the ministry's website as the project's interested bidders.