Magallanes port study expected Jan.

A pre-feasibility study for the Puerto Magallanes port project in southern Chile's Region XII is expected January 15, Eduardo Manzanares, general manager of regional state port company Empresa Portuaria Austral (EPA), told BNamericas. In July, EPA, along with Chile's state oil company Enap and Spain's Valencia port authority "Autoridad Portuaria de Valencia" inked a protocol agreement to begin the studies into the multipurpose port. A group of Valencia investors known as "Consorcio de Inversiones Portuarias" and backed by the port authority are carrying out the studies that are looking at required investment, expected traffic flows and growth potential. Manzanares said that although EPA is a services-oriented port - serving some 100 cruiser ships this season - they are interested in seeing what the studies will reveal and what would be the participation of EPA in the project. The port would be built at the Cabo Negro-Laredo industrial park on Enap property, on the Straits of Magellan, 28.5km north of regional capital Punta Arenas.