San Antonio Port Company (EPSA) reported that the consortium Dragados-Sacyr (Spain) and Grupo China Railway Construction Corporation CRCC (China) have joined the international tender process for the Puerto Exterior project.
The schedule considers the receipt of bids in January 2026 and the awarding of the contract in March of the same year.
This brings the total to five companies and two consortia competing to be awarded the construction of the breakwater and complementary works for this initiative.
Until the end of September, the Prequalified Companies Registry included Van Oord (Netherlands), Jan de Nul (Belgium), China Harbour Engineering Company CHEC (China), Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. (Korea) and Acciona-Deme (Spain-Belgium).
The tender contemplates the awarding of a contract for the construction of the breakwater (approximately 4 kilometers long), the dredging to create the basin and the access channel, the platforms, the railway access with two stations and work facilities, along with environmental compensation and mitigation measures. This will involve an investment by San Antonio Port Company of USD 1.95 billion.
As part of the tender, which began last January, the Prequalified Companies Registry will be published no later than November 15. This registry includes companies or consortia that meet the technical and administrative requirements established by the state-owned company, in addition to accrediting a long track record in the construction of large-scale maritime infrastructure worldwide.
“In strategic projects for the country like Puerto Exterior, which will provide Chile with the necessary port capacity for the coming decades, it is especially relevant to already have seven companies, all with proven experience in maritime-port mega-projects, participating in the international tender that will define the company responsible for the breakwater and related works of the project,” emphasized the Chairman of the San Antonio Port Board, Eduardo Abedrapo Bustos.
“These results demonstrate the solidity of the tender process and reinforce the relevance of the most important port project in the history of Chile.
Today we are not only moving forward so that the Outer Port consolidates the position of the Port of San Antonio in the international maritime-port context and as part of the large-scale port network of Latin America and the Caribbean, but also so that it is a project that drives the social development of the province of San Antonio, creating new employment opportunities and protecting the local environment,” he added.
Outer Port Project
The Outer Port contemplates the construction of a breakwater (approximately 4 kilometers long), dredging, and embankments that will result in two semi-automated terminals of 1,730 meters each.
The project will be developed gradually in four stages, according to demand projections, and, at full operation, will have the capacity to transfer 6 million TEUs per year (equivalent to approximately 60 million tons of cargo) and will be able to simultaneously receive up to eight 400-meter-long vessels, the largest currently sailing in the world.
The total investment plan is estimated at USD 4,450 million; of which USD 1,950 million will be contributed by the San Antonio Port Company for the construction of the breakwater works, the creation of the harbor basin, backup areas and access roads, in addition to environmental mitigation and compensation measures.
The remaining USD 2,500 million will be contributed by the private sector, through port concessions, for the construction, enabling, and operation of the sites.
The Outer Port will begin operating with its first stage, with an 865-meter pier, around the year 2036, adding an available capacity of 1.5 million TEUs per year.
