Skip to main content

Chile-Argentina tunnel project progress

Further progress is being made with the landmark Agua Negra Tunnel project that will connect Argentina and Chile. The new tunnel will run through the Andes mountain range, providing an improved highway link between the two nations, boosting trade and transport. The consortia pre-qualified for the tender process will be announced during November 2017.
October 20, 2017 Read time: 1 min

Further progress is being made with the landmark Agua Negra Tunnel project that will connect Argentina and Chile. The new tunnel will run through the Andes mountain range, providing an improved highway link between the two nations, boosting trade and transport. The consortia pre-qualified for the tender process will be announced during November 2017. Construction of the tunnel is expected to cost US$1.5 billion and could take up to 10 years to complete. Initial funding to help start some of the technical design and planning work on the project is being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in the shape of two loans. One loan of $130 million will be for Argentina while the other, of $150 million, will be for Chile. The IADB has said it will source the necessary funding for the entire project. The intended design of twin tube tunnels calls for parallel drives measuring 13.9m in diameter. Around 72% of the 14km route run through Argentina, connecting San Juan in Argentina with Coquimbo in Chile.

Related Content

  • Thailand highway and bridge projects underway
    September 27, 2017
    Plans are being up in Thailand’s capital Bangkok for a new expressway project in a bid to cut the city’s chronic congestion problem. This new route would provide a connection between the Western Outer Ring Road and Rama II Road. The project is being planned by the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat). Financing for the project worth US$918.3 million will be provided by the Thailand Future Fund (TTF). The new route will include an elevated stretch from Rama II's traffic island towards the Western Outer Ri
  • EBRD funding for St Petersburg project?
    April 27, 2012
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intends to provide a US$277 million (€200 million) loan to the Northern Capital Highway consortium, which will build the central 11.5km section of St Petersburg’s Western High Speed Diameter (WHSD) route. The EBRD’s board of directors has said will consider the loan on 14th February 2012. The finance package is of note as Russian road projects have largely found funds from other sources so far. The Northern Capital Highway consortium estimates the
  • Key Chinese tunnel project going ahead
    August 14, 2020
    Work is going ahead for a key Chinese tunnel project.
  • State of the art tunnel a conservation triumph
    May 2, 2012
    The opening of a 1.8km tunnel in southern England is designed to ease traffic bottlenecks in an environmentally sensitive area. Patrick Smith reports