Developments in green energy, sustained investment in mining and desalination, and the race to materialize plans for infrastructure and railroad concessions will maintain activity in the second half of this year, in contrast to the slow scenario in the real estate sector.
Some are already underway, several are preparing environmental procedures or awaiting their results, while others are working on the engineering studies for their execution. There are around 450 large public and private projects in force, in different stages of development, among which the initiatives in the energy sector stand out, which has the largest investment portfolio driven by emblematic initiatives in green hydrogen and derived products in the Magallanes Region. Likewise, the mining industry maintains a sustained activity in a scenario of reactivation of projects in a long-term view. The infrastructure area is marked by the completion of the concession portfolio, while in transportation the dynamism is associated with trains and the Metro. On the other hand, the industrial sector shows more discreet progress and the real estate sector is suffering the effects of its slowdown. In all of these areas, a number of major developments will reach crucial stages in the coming years.
The energy sector driven by green H2
In line with its constant development in recent years, the energy sector has the highest figures in terms of investment amounts and number of projects, several of which are reaching key stages at this point in 2024. Here the great impetus comes from the gestation of large renewable energy initiatives associated with the field of green hydrogen and derived products. The best example is the megaproject of the Austro-Danish consortium HNH to produce and export green ammonia in Magallanes, whose investment amounts to USS 11 billion, and which will soon complete a key stage for its approval. Currently in the process of qualification in the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA), the initiative is scheduled to conclude its citizen participation phase on November 7, which will conclude the work that began on August 8. Another development that is working to complete the relevant milestones of its approval is TEG Chile’s Gente Grande project, with investments of some US$ 7 billion to generate between 1.3 and 1.5 million tons of green ammonium per year. Its managers are working hard to submit the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) during the remainder of this year. In the electricity sector, the main initiative in the transmission segment is the megaline Kimal Lo Aguirre – with 1,342 kilometers between the Antofagasta and Metropolitan regions and investments of USS 1,480 million – and whose consortium is working to deliver the addendum to the first lcsara (Consolidated Report of Request for Clarifications, Rectifications and/or Expansions) of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA), within a process that adds up to 2,600 observations. And time is short, as the deadline for the presentation is September 30, according to the current schedule. Within its broad portfolio of projects, Colbún is focused on concluding in the coming months the installation phase of the Horizonte Wind Farm, located 170 kilometers south of Antofagasta and involving an investment of US$ 700 million. Considered the largest initiative of its kind in the country to date and with 90% progress to date, in the coming months it will complete the assembly of its 140 wind turbines in order to complete its installation by the end of this year.
Mining: ongoing investments for US$ 2,646 million
In a current scenario of more optimistic expectations for future investments in the Chilean mining sector, this industry has been carrying out a series of capacity expansion projects this year, including six ongoing initiatives totaling US$ 2,646 million. A relevant position in this portfolio is occupied by SQM Salar’s Planta Carmen project, whose investment amounts to USS 987 million and which will increase the production capacity of this complex to 270 thousand tons per year of final product through the incorporation of new technologies, operational improvements in existing facilities and the construction of new production facilities. This list is completed by a series of expansions at mining sites: the extension of BHP’s Escondida tailings dump (US$470 million); the upgrade of KGHM’s Sierra Gorda Tailings deposit (US$400 million); the adaptation of works for the operational continuity of Glencore’s Lomas Bayas (US$254 million); the development plan for the continuity of Minera HMC’s Michilla (US$ 235 million), and the Polo Sur project and optimization of Antofagasta Minerals’ (AMSA) Minera Centinela, estimated at some US$ 300 million. In addition, the mining arm of the Luksic group consolidated this year the start-up of the Nueva Centinela megaproject, which will expand production and extend the useful life of this deposit in the Antofagasta Region for 30 years, with a total investment of US$ 4.4 billion. This copper project began last July. Its major works have already started and, after exceeding 14% progress with a staff of 3,000 people, in parallel, preparations are underway to initiate another front of its plan with the first movements in the area where the new Thickened Tailings Repository (ORE) will be located, a sustainable technology that minimizes the water requirement and maximizes its recovery. The initiative also considers the development of the Esperanza Sur and Encuentro pits, a new concentrator plant and a second thickened tailings deposit, among other works that will be completed by the end of 2027.
The high season for the infrastructure concession portfolio
The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) has committed to an active portfolio of concessions to private companies, with calls for bids for 10 projects for a total of USS 3,816 million in 2024, according to the latest update provided by the Ministry. Among the next milestones is the New Copiapó Prison, which is scheduled to be put out to tender in October with an investment of US$ 200 million. The Coquimbo Desalination Plant for US$ 286 million stands out among the initiatives on the schedule for December due to its importance for the region. In terms of investment amounts, the Caldera-Antofagasta section of Route 5 (US$ 931 million), the Second Concession of the Río Bueno-Puerto Montt section (US$ 800 million) and the Access to Valdivia (US$ 675 million) top the list. To this must be added the Concepción Public Transportation Corridors Route 160 and 150 – totaling US$ 379 million -, the South Airport Network (US$ 273 million for the Puerto Montt, Osorno and Chi-loé terminals), the Alto Hospicio-lquique Cable Car (US$ 178 million), the Tsunami Early Warning System (US$ 94 million) and the Laguna de Talca Prison (US$ 63 million). In the area of projects awarded to private companies, the South Santiago Orbital Concession -a 24-kilometer highway that will connect the municipalities of Peñaflor and San Bernardo with an investment of US$ 539 million- in charge of Intervial Chile, plans to begin engineering studies in the next few months. And the new concession of the Santiago-Los Vilos section of Route 5, which involves resources of more than US$ 1,200 million in charge of Vías Chile, will enter this same phase in the remainder of 2024, with a view to starting work in 2027. Both routes are part of the MOP’s busy agenda of awards during the current fiscal year, which includes ten works for US$ 6,353 million. These include the new concession of Ruta 68 Santiago-Valparaíso, a strategic road that will be expanded with investments of US$ 1,500 million and for which bids will be received next October. And that month the winner of the new concession of the North Access to Concepción (US$ 564 million) will also be known among four firms that submitted bids: Intervial, Vias Chile, Sacyr and OHLA. Also, in the final stretch of 2024, the Northern Airport Network (Caldera and Antofagasta terminals) will be awarded to the Sacyr-Cointer consortium. The rest of this portfolio is made up of projects such as the Araucania Airport, the Chacao-Chonchi route and the second concession of the Temuco-Rio Bueno section of Route 5.
Desalination plant boom marks activity in the industrial area
One of the most dynamic areas in the industrial sector is the construction of desalination plants, mostly associated with mining in the northern regions of the country. To date, investments in this area total USS 11,772 million related to eight desalination plant projects under development, and five plants under construction or about to start operations: Collahuasi, Distrito Norte, Mantoverde Expansion, Antofagasta and Aconcagua. In addition, three other initiatives have already had their environmental assessment approved (Centinela Mining District Stages I and II, Santo Domingo and Atacama) and at least 17 initiatives and projects are in preliminary assessment. In this area, the largest project is ENAPAC Distribución Este (US$ 600 million) which includes the construction and operation of a subway aqueduct that will permit the transport of desalinated water for industrial use from Copiapó to the Maricunga sector. In the productive area, last July the company Arauco – linked to the Angelini group – announced an investment of close to US$ 100 million to set up an OSB product manufacturing line at the Trupán Cholguán Complex in the Yungay district, Ñuble Region. With a view to starting operations during the second quarter of 2026, the company plans to make progress in the remainder of this year in its environmental processing.
Transportation: the activation of rail developments
Rail transport initiatives are on the move during this semester. In the case of EFE Trenes de Chile, there are currently four active projects, among them the integral modernization of the railroad track between Temuco and Gorbea (USS 134 million), in the Araucanía Region, which after bidding the works for the replacement of all sleepers and rails, in the remaining months of this year prepares the second stage of this process that contemplates the recovery of stations, the automation of crossings and the purchase of four trains. The state-owned company’s major ongoing projects will also make progress during the remainder of this year. This is the case of the future train between Santiago and Melipilla -which will require resources totaling USS 800 million- and which this month completed one of its first stages with the receipt of bids for a set of works such as overpasses, maintenance center and depots for two of its sections, the awarding of which is scheduled for November and thus begin construction in early 2025. The bidding process for the second railway initiative for the Metropolitan Region is also active: the future Santiago-Batuco train, which is currently in the bidding process for civil works, its investment will amount to some US$ 530 million and the receipt of bids is scheduled for October. Then, the process will give way to the works in the first four months of 2025, which will start in the section between Batuco and Quilicura. In the Biobío region, EFE is promoting the development of the Biotren with global investments of USS 291 million, which began in the middle of this year with calls for bids to expand the capacity of 14 platforms on Line 2 Coronel-Concepción to allow the circulation of two-car convoys, together with the modernization of the electrical substations and catenaries. This process is in the phase of defining the winners to start the works in April 2025. Together with the rapid execution of the works of Line 7 between Renca and Vitacura -whose entry into operation will take place in 2028 at a cost of US$ 2,528 million-, Metro S.A. is managing the approvals of Line 8, which will connect Providencia and Puente Alto with 14 stations and investments for USS 1,890 million. After submitting the respective Environmental Impact Study, the company is preparing to enter the complex phase of citizen participation in the six districts it crosses, a task that began in May and June with early information days for the community.
Exceptions in a slow year for the real estate sector
Although it is a commercial initiative, the future real estate development that is capturing the market’s attention is the mall that Cencosud Shopping is seeking to build in the district of Vitacura, near Saint George’s School, with investments of around US$ 120 million. Although in July 2023 the SEIA admitted the project for processing after criticism from neighbors and representatives of the educational establishment, its manager temporarily suspended the environmental processing in order to resubmit the Environmental Impact Statement in the coming months, seeking to optimize its final result in this process. In the residential area, and within a general scenario of falling investment, in the area of second homes, the following project stands out
