Chilean environmental authorities approved the expansion of the Port of San Antonio, the country's main maritime terminal for foreign trade. Photo by Mario Ruiz/EPA
SANTIAGO, May 29 (UPI) -- Chilean environmental authorities approved the expansion of the Port of San Antonio, the country's main maritime terminal for foreign trade. The project involves a $4.45 billion investment and is considered the largest port infrastructure project in Chile's history.
After six years of regulatory review, the new San Antonio port project includes the construction of a roughly 2.5-mile breakwater and two new cargo terminals that will triple the cargo-handling capacity of the current port, allowing it to process up to six million 20-foot containers per year.
San Antonio ranked ninth in the 2025 Latin American and Caribbean Port Container Throughput Ranking compiled by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazil's Port of Santos ranked first with more than 5.4 million containers, followed by Manzanillo in Mexico and Cartagena Bay in Colombia.
"This project will ensure the logistics capacity the country will need over the next decade, strengthening the competitiveness of our exports, national supply chains and Chile's strategic position in the global port network," Fernando Gajardo, acting chief executive officer of Puerto San Antonio, said after the approval.
