The Empresa Portuaria Arica (EPA) anticipates that the maritime facility will directly benefit from the entry into force of the new Cabotage Law, published on November 19 in the Diario Oficial. Its regulatory framework is expected to increase the port’s competitiveness by enabling it to offer more and better routes.
In this regard, Jorge Cáceres, general manager of the EPA, commented that “we were eagerly awaiting this Law because it has many positive aspects, mainly for our port. On one hand, it excludes from what is considered cabotage cargo all the overseas cargo that comes from Bolivia, which until now could only be transported to the Port of Callao, Peru, and from there to its final destination.”
“Now this allows that cargo to also be destined for other ports in Chile, for example San Antonio or Valparaíso, and from there shipped to its final destination anywhere in the world. This implies that there are new alternatives, better routes and also a reduction in transportation costs, which gives us more competitiveness as the Port of Arica,” he added.
The law, led in its legislative processing by the Ministerio de Transportes y Telecomunicaciones (MTT) together with the Ministerio de Economía, modernizes maritime cargo transport, boosting the country’s competitiveness and allowing for greater logistical efficiency in cargo transport, reducing polluting emissions and lowering maritime container cabotage rates and other associated costs.
In this sense, Cáceres indicated that “everything that arrives through the ports is mainly due to foreign trade and only about 20-25% corresponded to trade between Chilean ports. Today, with this measure, this exchange will be encouraged, it will allow some roads to be freed from cargo and there will be more supply alternatives, especially in our region.”
“Also for the shipment of products from Arica to the rest of the country, the possibility is now granted for them to be loaded onto international ships that pass by and have weekly routes from the Port of Arica to the ports of the central zone. These are really very good news and we hope that this will generate greater dynamism, reduce logistical costs and that this translates into benefits for all Chileans, especially for this region,” he added.
In line with the above, it is worth remembering that the secretario regional ministerial (seremi) of Economía, Fomento y Turismo of the Región de Antofagasta, Matías Muñoz Valdebenito, stated that the new Cabotage Law will strengthen activity in the north of Chile, adding to the boost that the Corredor Bioceánico will also provide.
