Scotiabank approves Talcahuano-Penco hwy. financing

Chilean bank Scotiabank Sud Americano has approved close to US$15mn to help finance the construction of the US$24.6mn Interportuaria (Talcahuano-Penco) highway project in southern Region VIII, local press reported. The public works ministry awarded the 31.5-year concession to Consorcio Autopista Interportuaria, made up of local companies Besalco, ByA Ingenieros and Genera Inversiones, in January 2002. The project - still under review at national environment authority Conama - will connect the port city of Talcahuano and the town of Penco, and entails 14km of new roads, 10.5km of which will correspond to the route itself, including a 110m bridge. The other 3.5km of road will be an extension of Alessandri Avenue. Interportuaria will help ease traffic congestion in Talcahuano, as well as neighboring regional capital Concepcion, and help improve access to the Talcahuano-San Vicente port area. About 500,000 people live in the Concepcion-Talcahuano-San Vincente metropolitan area.