Chile plans to invest over US$1bn in infra concessions next year

Chile plans infrastructure investments worth 973bn pesos (US$1.03bn) through concession contracts next year.

The figure includes contracts that have already been awarded or are currently being tendered. 

Of the amount, 63.2% correspond to investments in mobility projects, such as highways, airports and public transportation, public works minister Jessica López told a senate budget committee reviewing her office’s funding in the 2025 budget bill.

The bill places the public works ministry’s (MOP) resources for next year at 5.10tn pesos, which is 1bn pesos less than for 2024. Resources going to investments remain flat compared to this year, staying at around 3.83tn pesos.

“It is a pretty demanding and challenging budget for the ministry,” López said. 

Last week, MOP reported that it had executed 57.3% of its 2024 budget as of September 30, its best nine-month performance since 2017.

The 663bn pesos that will be invested through concessions include works on 2,312km of highways, three cable cars (one awarded, two others to be tendered next year), two public transport corridors for electric buses (tender expected for 2025), and 13 airports (six under construction, seven being tendered).

This also includes the integral study for the upcoming Santiago-Valparaíso train (US$3.8bn), which will have to be tendered again after a previous process was declared void in August. 

López said that this segment also has 180 smaller projects under the “good neighbor” program, in which concessionaires carry out works such as park, illumination and road safety improvements in neighborhoods that are part of their concession areas. 

There will also be  159bn pesos worth of investments in concessions for security-related works, which include penitentiaries, border passes, flood control structures, and facilities for firefighters and police.

Meanwhile, 140bn pesos of the concession-related investments will go to social works such as hospitals. Lastly 10.6bn pesos will be invested in water infrastructure concessions, including reservoirs and desalination plants.

The different MOP units, including the concessions office, will present further details of their respective 2025 plans to the budget committee later this week.