Chile approves $4.45B project to triple capacity of country's largest port

SANTIAGO, May 29 (UPI) -- Chilean environmental authorities approved the expansion of the Port of San Antonio, the country's main maritime terminal for foreign trade. The project involves a $4.45 billion investment and is considered the largest port infrastructure project in Chile's history.

After six years of regulatory review, the new San Antonio port project includes the construction of a roughly 2.5-mile breakwater and two new cargo terminals that will triple the cargo-handling capacity of the current port, allowing it to process up to six million 20-foot containers per year.

San Antonio ranked ninth in the 2025 Latin American and Caribbean Port Container Throughput Ranking compiled by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazil's Port of Santos ranked first with more than 5.4 million containers, followed by Manzanillo in Mexico and Cartagena Bay in Colombia.

"This project will ensure the logistics capacity the country will need over the next decade, strengthening the competitiveness of our exports, national supply chains and Chile's strategic position in the global port network," Fernando Gajardo, acting chief executive officer of Puerto San Antonio, said after the approval.

The project continues under an international bidding process launched in 2025. Authorities expect to award the contract this year and begin construction in 2027.

Companies that have submitted proposals include Dutch firm Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors, Spanish consortium Dragados Sacyr Obras Portuarias, and CRCC Group, made up of Chinese companies China Railway Construction Corporation and CRCC Harbour and Channel Engineering Bureau Group, among others.

Rodrigo Garrido, a transportation and logistics specialist and engineering professor at Adolfo Ibáñez University, told UPI that the port expansion is one of the most important logistics infrastructure decisions Chile has made in recent decades.

"Today, ports in the central region operate with limited capacity and, in addition, the Port of Valparaíso faces very severe geographic restrictions that prevent significant expansion," he said.

Mabel Leva, executive director of Conecta Logística, said the project will ensure sufficient port capacity to support foreign trade growth in the coming decades.

"Chile depends heavily on exports and imports, so having modern, large-scale infrastructure is essential to maintaining competitiveness, reducing logistics costs and strengthening our integration into global supply chains," she told UPI.

She added that one of the project's key strengths is its broader transportation approach, including rail and road access, environmental sustainability and improved integration between the port and the city.

"These are elements that are now indispensable in the world's most advanced logistics systems," Leva said.

Garrido said the situation is especially critical for Chile because, due to its location, it is three times farther from major international markets than many of its regional competitors.

"When a country faces that kind of structural geographic disadvantage, logistics efficiency stops being a desirable factor and becomes a condition for competitive survival. This new project is not simply a larger port, it is strategic infrastructure," he said.

According to Garrido, the new port will also increase cargo-handling capacity, accommodate larger vessels, reduce congestion risks and provide greater resilience to Chile's export system.

The expansion comes amid intense regional competition. Peru launched the Chancay megaport, operated by the Chinese-Peruvian company Cosco Shipping Ports Chancay. This year it became the country's second-busiest port by cargo volume, behind Callao.

"Chancay represents a significant shift in regional competition. Peru is seeking to position itself as a trans-Pacific platform with strong integration into Asia and backing from Chinese capital. That forces Chile to accelerate investments and institutional coordination," Garrido said.

"Chile still has important advantages in institutional strength, logistics experience and its port network, but the risk of losing prominence exists if we do not move forward more quickly and with greater coordination. Competition is no longer between isolated ports, but between integrated logistics systems," Leva added.

Nevertheless, she said Chile should maintain its regional leadership through the new investments.

"A new port with capacity approaching 6 million TEUs annually, combined with cutting-edge logistics technology and the development of a major rail corridor, should allow Chile to maintain and even strengthen its logistics leadership along South America's Pacific coast," Garrido said.

In his view, Chile's main advantages remain institutional stability, accumulated logistics expertise, regulatory sophistication and operational reliability.

"Chile remains a pioneer in logistics and port modernization in Latin America, beyond some specific technological advances that may have recently been implemented in ports such as Chancay. Modern logistics systems are far more complex than cranes or automation alone," he said.