en.Wedoany.com Reported - Chile plans to increase annual investment in concession projects from approximately $1 billion to $4 billion to accelerate the construction of key infrastructure, as announced by Deputy Minister of Public Works Nicolás Balmaceda.
The Concessions Department of the Ministry of Public Works is advancing major tenders for roads, transportation, water resources, and prison infrastructure, expected to be awarded in the third quarter of 2026. Following the award of projects such as Route 5 (Río Bueno - Puerto Montt section) or the Pie de Monte Highway, three additional road tenders worth $2.712 billion are expected to be launched in the third quarter. Among them, the re-tender of the 144-kilometer section of Route 5 from Collipulli to Gorbea in the La Araucanía Region, with an estimated value of $1.133 billion, has an economic proposal submission date set for August 11, 2026, with an expected award on September 6. Another road project worth $946.2 million—the expansion and improvement of Route 57 (Santiago - Colina - Los Andes section)—will receive technical and financial proposals on July 21, with an expected award in mid-August. This project connects Santiago in the Metropolitan Region with Route 60 east of Los Andes in the Valparaíso Region. The expansion, improvement, maintenance, and operation project of Routes 202 and 206 in the Los Ríos Region—the Valdivia Corridor Concession—has an estimated value of $633 million, with a proposal submission date of September 10 and an expected award one month later.
In terms of transportation and prison services, a tender was launched in mid-June in the city of Iquique for a 5.7-kilometer cable car project connecting the Rotonda Esmeralda station and Rotonda El Pampino in the Alto Hospicio municipality. This $126 million project plans a non-polluting public transportation system with a maximum capacity of 2,000 passengers per hour per direction. Proposals will be received on July 30, with the award scheduled for August 27. Other concession bidding processes are planned for the last three months of the year: in November, proposals worth $171 million will be received for the construction and maintenance of a centralized public transportation corridor in Coronel, between Conexión con Puente Industrial – Enlace Junquillar and San Francisco; in December, proposals worth $172 million will be received for the construction and maintenance of two public transportation corridors on the Concepción - Talcahuano Highway Section II and the central axis of Route 150 in the Biobío Region. Chile expects to receive proposals on November 24 for the construction of the Calama Prison Complex, a project valued at $370.5 million, planning a new prison facility expected to house 1,850 deprived of liberty individuals, with a total built area of approximately 71,850 square meters. The concession includes facility maintenance and prison service provision.
In other tenders, Chile's Ministry of Public Works has 112 ongoing infrastructure project tenders, including water works, airports, ports, and roads, most with values below $50 million. One of the largest tenders is the replacement project for the barracks and forensic laboratory of the PDI Police Complex in Concepción, Biobío Region, with a budget of 61.703 billion Chilean pesos (approximately $66.7 million), with a deadline set for August. The project includes designing two buildings on a plot of approximately 8,400 square meters.
