Chile launches tender to complete Chiloé roadworks halted by company bankruptcy

Chile’s public works ministry (MOP) launched a 10bn-peso (US$12mn) tender to complete the construction of a 16km bypass linking the route 5 north-south highway with the city of Castro on Chiloé island (Los Lagos region).

The works have been halted since October following the bankruptcy of local construction firm Claro Vicuña Valenzuela (CVV), which was responsible for construction of the road. 

Works originally began in 2015 with a 25bn-peso budget and were overseen by Besalco. But the firm requested the termination of the contract in 2018 after it found itself unable to continue following the discovery of archeological remains on the route, obliging construction to be stopped. 

The contract was tendered again in 2019, with CVV submitting the sole 24.5bn-peso bid, documents show.

Local news outlet La Opinión de Chiloé reported that in June 2022, four months before CVV entered bankruptcy, the project was 60% complete.

CVV cited high construction costs, lower workforce availability and supply chain disruptions as the causes of its economic problems, which are causing major headaches for Chile’s construction sector in general.

Public works minister Jessica López told a senate committee earlier this month that seven other contracts previously held by CVV are now being resumed.

Technical bids to finish the Castro bypass will be opened on September 29, while economic bids will be opened on October 6. The tender documents can be seen here, in Spanish.