New Latin trade corridor takes shape

January 8, 2012, 7:12 pm 

This year will see the start of construction work on a new cross-Andes transport corridor connecting Chile with Argentina. 

The 204km Bi-Oceanico Aconcagua Corridor will connect Punta de Vacas in Argentina and Saladillo, Chile, and, according to the respective governments, enable transit times of just four hours. The development will be accompanied by seamless Customs and border controls.

According to a report in IFW’s sister publication,Containerisation International, currently, an estimated 85% of cargo shipped between Chile and Bolivia and the eastern seaboard of South America is moved by sea and can take at least two weeks, with transit times on a key corridor, such as San Antonio to Santos, averaging 18 days.

It is hoped that the first phase of the corridor will open during 2020 and have the capacity to handle 10 million tonnes of cargo a year. All cargo types will be transported, including containers, and the stations that will be built as part of the project will be multipurpose in nature.

A further two stages of development are planned but with no specific time frames in place at this time.

The first would boost capacity by 100% to 20 million tonnes, through the construction of a second rail link, and the second would involved the building of a second tunnel, boosting the link’s cargo capacity to 30 million tonnes. 

Thereafter, haulage capacity would be expanded on a gradual basis, principally through improved management of the corridor and investment in new rolling stock.

The corridor is viewed by the governments of the various Mercosur countries, as strategic in helping alleviate congestion on the Cristo Redentor Pass, which can be closed for up to 60 days a year because of bad weather, and bolstering, in particular, Argentina’s and Brazil’s connections with Asia, and Chile’s trade with Europe, Africa and the Middle East/India.

- IFW