Chile urged to complement port expansions with rail modernization

Port expansions in Chile will not necessarily translate into bigger traffic numbers if they are not accompanied by development of the country’s rail network, according to the head of maritime port chamber Camport, Daniel Fernández.

“We talk about a large-scale port [in San Antonio], but without a large-scale rail network that’s absolutely impossible,” Fernández told a port infrastructure webinar hosted by the Chile Pacific Foundation.

Chile ranks fifth in Latin America in terms of port traffic, with nearly 3.24mn TEUs last year, according to data from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac).

Peru, which is seen as a potential competitor to Chile in terms of port development, ranked one place below with 2.87mn TEUs, though that number is expected to increase once Chancay port begins operations later this year.

Fernández said Chile lacks an integrated logistics network, which in the case of ports results in problems with roads and rail access to terminals. 

“Road accesses are permanently clogged up. Investments are made but they don’t have an exclusive lane [for cargo] like with railways,” he said. 

Fernández warned that though there is a government plan to modernize railways, better coordination must be achieved to fully integrate them into the main port terminals.

He said port concessionaires are willing to invest but require a defined investment schedule from the state-owned port firms who grant the concessions. 

“If I was an investor coming to Chile to invest in ports, there isn’t a single website” outlining planned investments in the future, he said. 

Port concessions in Chile have gone through rough patches in recent years, with one concessionaire leaving a US$500mn project in Valparaíso due to a prolonged environmental evaluation process, while a plan to build a new US$4bn terminal in San Antonio is currently stuck in the same stage.

When BNamericas asked if the port concessions system should be modified, Fernández said the next tender cycle should consider aspects that were omitted when the current scheme was introduced in the late 1990s, such as installations for customs offices and scanners, as ports are now starting to deal with increasing levels of drug-related operations. 

The Camport head said Chile is starting to become an export hub for these substances, and that better coordination between authorities and operators is needed.