Terminal Portuario Valparaíso (TPV), the concessionaire of terminal 2 of the Port of Valparaíso, shipped the first public transport bus destined for Robinson Crusoe Island.
The operation took place at site 7 of the facility, where the vehicle was loaded onto the vessel Antonio, 44 meters in length and 10 meters in beam, which performs cabotage between the continent and the archipelago. The ship provides maritime transport service from TPV to Robinson Crusoe and Alejandro Selkirk Island twice a month.
“At Terminal Portuario Valparaíso we are very pleased to be the main port terminal through which goods destined for Insular Chile are shipped and unloaded, thus becoming the bridge that connects the continent with islands such as Juan Fernández and Rapa Nui, ensuring that essential goods reach every corner of our country,” said the General Manager of TPV, Manuel Cañas Estévez.
For her part, the President of the Board of Directors of Empresa Portuaria Valparaíso (EPV), Nicole Pastene, highlighted that “one of the characteristic features of Puerto Valparaíso is that, through its terminals, it allows the connection and supply of our island territory through cabotage vessels. In this sense, seeing today the shipment of the first land public transport bus to Robinson Crusoe Island undoubtedly adds a new milestone in the history of our port and its city.”
“As we have stated in the Acuerdo por Valparaíso, we are an engine of development for our commune, for the region, and for the foreign trade and tourism of our country, but also for the connection with our islands and their inhabitants, contributing in multiple ways to improving people’s quality of life,” expressed Pastene.
“This will be a service that will benefit more than 900 people who, in the middle of 2025, had as their only option to travel by private vehicles, on horseback, or on foot, in an area whose weather conditions are not always optimal. Therefore, it fills us with satisfaction to be able to see off this bus today, which will arrive on the island at the end of this week and will very soon be available to all the island’s inhabitants,” emphasized the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Juan Carlos Muñoz.
“On behalf of the neighbors who will be able to use this public transport at a very affordable price. This is an advance that is highlighted and recognized not only by the municipality but also by civil society organizations and neighbors who participated in 2023 in the community dialogues held on the island. With this, we see the various proposals made to the government at that time being realized, and that it is fulfilling its commitment to provide this fundamental support. For Juan Fernández, it is a true milestone, as it confirms that the MTT is delivering territorial equity,” stated the Mayor of Juan Fernández, Pablo Manríquez.
