Public Works Ministry: “Our priority is to look after Chile’s resources. The construction of the Chacao bridge will continue”

The Public Works Minister spoke on Tuesday about the Chacao bridge following the release of a public announcement by the Chacao Bridge Consortium (Consorcio Puente Chacao or CPC) regarding a potential halt in the construction of the bridge being built to join the island of Chiloé to mainland Chile. “The Chacao bridge is one of the most important engineering and public works in Chile. It will provide connectivity to the island, to the people who live there and those who want to go there. Those people are our main concern.

The work to build the bridge was awarded following a tender in 2013 under President Piñera's first administration for a total of around US$ 600 million. As a government, we will continue to support its construction, just as we have done until now. The construction of the Chacao bridge will continue,” highlighted Minister Alfredo Moreno.

He added, “our other priority is to look after the resources of the people of Chile. This is a major project and the $218 billion additional pesos being requested by the consortium in charge of building it (CPC) - approximately US$300 million - represents an increase of 50% in the cost of the bridge.” To put this figure into perspective, the minister explained, “this is equivalent to four times what has been built. In other words, these figures will increase the bridge’s original cost five-fold. We therefore have to look after Chile's resources, considering that the amount requested is almost as much as the building work for the three hospitals that we are going to tender soon: the hospitals in Parral, Linares and Constitución.”

The minister added that the government will continue to do everything it can to keep the construction work on schedule: “We will continue to make every effort to reach an agreement with the consortium, provided that they comply with these two priorities: first, building this bridge and achieving connectivity with Chiloé; and second, meeting the deadlines and, above all, ensuring that Chile’s resources are looked after.”

With regard to the differences that CPC has referred to, Minister Alfredo Moreno outlined the steps to be followed. “The contract itself establishes that any difference must be resolved in Chile’s law courts. If differences arise, any of the parties can simply file actions with the court. No one is above the law, neither Chileans nor foreigners, which is why no one can make threats or say they will not fulfill the contract. We will not accept nonfulfillment of the contract. If nonfulfillment should occur, there will be serious repercussions for the consortium itself,” he concluded.