en.Wedoany.com Reported - Chile's Beler S.A. and Singapore's International Nusantara Investment have jointly launched a $9.6 billion plan to restore the railway connection between Chile's Valparaiso Region (Region de Valparaiso) and Argentina's Mendoza. The project, named the "Longotoma Bioceanic Corridor (Corredor Bioceanico Longotoma)," aims to develop a modern railway between the two countries, opening a new export route to the Pacific for South American products via a 54-kilometer mountain tunnel between Uspallata and Los Andes.
The corridor plan covers freight and passenger infrastructure, aiming to serve as a logistics alternative connecting Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay with Asian markets. The project also plans to build a freight hub and a deep-sea port in Longotoma, dedicated to exporting grains and other products from South America to the Asia-Pacific market. Project promoters state that this corridor is expected to reduce logistics costs and enhance the export competitiveness of the region. According to project leaders, Argentina and Brazil export over 380 million tons of soybeans, corn, and wheat annually, most of which is shipped to China and other Asian countries.
According to calculations released by the consortium, the cost of transporting goods through Longotoma is approximately $95 per ton, lower than the related costs via the Panama Canal and the Port of Chancay (Puerto de Chancay). The initiative also considers using renewable energy and waste-to-energy systems to meet part of the complex's operational needs. The project is currently in a preliminary evaluation phase, seeking institutional support on both sides of the Andes. Project representatives have held meetings with authorities in the Valparaiso Region to present the proposal's scope and explore mechanisms to accelerate project development. Promoters are studying the possibility of applying the Maipu Treaty (Tratado de Maipu), signed in 2009 by the governments of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Michelle Bachelet, which provides cooperation tools for strategic infrastructure projects. Promoters believe that if the necessary authorizations are obtained, construction could be completed within three to four years. Historically, the Los Andes-Mendoza Trans-Andean Railway (Ferrocarril Trasandino Los Andes-Mendoza) began construction in Argentina in 1872, officially opened on April 5, 1910, spanned approximately 248 kilometers, carried hundreds of thousands of passengers at its peak, and ceased operations in 1984 after 74 years of service.
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