Skip to main content

Chile-Argentina tunnel passes administrative hurdle

The Agua Negra tunnel project that will connect Chile and Argentina has now passed a further legislative stage. The Chamber of Deputies in Chile approved the second protocol for the construction of the Agua Negra link. When complete the new tunnel will connect Argentina’s San Juan Province with Chile's Coquimbo Region. The tender process for the project should be launched in July 2015. The tunnel will be of major importance for both countries, providing an important link and carrying traffic that now has to
June 3, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The Agua Negra tunnel project that will connect Chile and Argentina has now passed a further legislative stage. The Chamber of Deputies in Chile approved the second protocol for the construction of the Agua Negra link. When complete the new tunnel will connect Argentina’s San Juan Province with Chile's Coquimbo Region. The tender process for the project should be launched in July 2015. The tunnel will be of major importance for both countries, providing an important link and carrying traffic that now has to pass through other connections with limited capacity and that are vulnerable to poor winter conditions. As it will be constructed at an altitude and in a remote area, the project will not be without its challenges however. Much of the route lies in Argentina, but Chilean tunnelling expertise will likely play a major role in its construction.

Related Content

  • Chile approves construction of the Agua Negra project through the Andes
    August 13, 2015
    Plans for a cross-continent upgraded road were recently boosted when Chile’s senate approved construction of its share of a major US$1.6 billion tunnel in the Andes Mountains. The Chilean approval comes after the Argentinian government gave the nod in March for construction on its section of the Agua Negra project. A tender for specific design work could be put out by September, according to the Argentinian newspaper Diario de Cuyo. The approvals resolve a number of bilateral issues including taxation
  • Chile-Argentina tunnel loan for bidding
    December 14, 2016
    Further progress is being made with the Agua Negra Tunnel project, which will connect Chile with Argentina. A loan worth US$40 million is being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). This loan will help deliver the bidding process for the project. Several bidders are being pre-qualified for the tender process. Construction of the tunnel itself is expected to take eight ant a half years with the work estimated to cost $1.6 billion. The tunnel will provide a safer and more reliable route than
  • New Chile-Argentina tunnel project to open for bids
    April 19, 2016
    The bidding process for the Agua Negra Tunnel project that will link Chile with Argentina looks set to commence in July or August 2016. The bidding is being organised jointly by the governments of both Chile and Argentina. One source of funding for the project is also now secured, with a loan of US$1.5 billion being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). In addition the IADB has also approved $20 million in funding for Chile and Argentina to finance the project's environmental impact studie
  • Additional Argentina-Chile tunnel project proposed
    January 9, 2015
    An agreement has been reached between Chile and Argentina over a long discussed tunnel project. The proposed tunnel would stretch 11.5km and connect Argentina’s Mendoza Province with Chile’s Region VI, with the project having first been mooted as far back as 1992. The cost of the proposed Paso Las Lenas Tunnel has yet to be revealed although the projected route through the Andes Mountains has been announced. The tunnel portals will be some 2,050m above sea level and the project will include the construction