Skip to main content

Chile highway construction works planned

The Chilean Government is planning a series of major highway projects with the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) managing the works. The plans call for 14 concessions worth a total of US$3.74 billion to be awarded by January 2018. The second stage of Americo Vespucio Oriente highway (AVO 2) is costing $800 million and is a priority project. This has been delayed already and opening of the route is now expected for 2022. Five regional highways are also opening for tender, including the Ruta G-21 road link, whic
May 12, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The 968 Chilean Government is planning a series of major highway projects with the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) managing the works. The plans call for 14 concessions worth a total of US$3.74 billion to be awarded by January 2018. The second stage of Americo Vespucio Oriente highway (AVO 2) is costing $800 million and is a priority project. This has been delayed already and opening of the route is now expected for 2022. Five regional highways are also opening for tender, including the Ruta G-21 road link, which was also delayed.


And design study has been carried out for the upgrade of the road between La Serena and Vicuna. The plans call for the route to widened, with twin lanes in either direction. The existing route is proving unable to cope with the current traffic load and has serious structural issues. The Coquimbo area will also see preparatory works for the Agua Negra tunnel project, which will connect Chile with Argentina. The tunnel should take 10 years to complete.

Meanwhile the tender process for the Camino de la Fruta road project will now open in July 2017, although it was originally intended to commence in April 2017. The contract for the $600 million road project will be awarded before the current administration leaves office in March 2018.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Latin America invests in infrastructure growth
    February 15, 2012
    Travelling in one of the world's most diverse regions is not always easy, but spectacular engineering feats will make life easier as Patrick Smith reports. Five years ago a report from the World Bank noted that infrastructure in most of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) had improved over the previous ten years.
  • Tunnel project of Chilean capital Santiago
    April 8, 2015
    Tunnel construction in Chilean capital Santiago will help cut chronic congestion – Mauro Nogarin & Mike Woof write. Chile’s capital Santiago is a thriving city having benefited from the country’s economy growing strongly in recent years. The massive copper mining sector has helped boost the country’s GDP significantly in the past few decades, also aided by the growing international reputation of Chile’s large wine industry. The steady economic growth has resulted in an equally steady growth in average incom
  • Delay possible for Chile-Argentina tunnel project
    May 10, 2018
    Delays may be a possibility for the construction of the Agua Negra Tunnel, which will run through the Andes mountain range and connect Argentina and Chile. The tendering process is being held back while further geological studies are carried out. An analysis of the initial geological work carried out so far for the project has highlighted a number of discrepancies with the information gathered. It is known that there are three main fault lines cutting across the intended tunnel route however. The tunnel
  • Chilean highway; design unveiled
    May 17, 2019
    The design of a stretch of Chile’s Americo Vespucio Oriente (AVO) highway has been revealed.