Brazilian construction companies working on Chile-Argentina railway

The concession of the airport at São Gonçalo do Amarante, near Natal, is not the only project of the Eurnekian family in Brazil. Some two years ago, so Valor has discovered, he tried to attract Brazilian subcontractors to a megaproject of infrastructure to connect the Chilean coast to the province of Mendoza, in Argentina. This development, which plans for a 204-kilometre goods railway including a 52 km tunnel cutting through the Andes, has had its price tag placed at US$ 3 billion.

Directors of Corporación América, the holding company controlled by Eurnekian, have already looked into more than one construction firm in Brazil. Last year, they were in São Paulo with businessman Marcelo Odebrecht, but he was not convinced about the economic feasibility of the project. Queiroz Galvão also talked to the Argentineans. So far, the companies that have entered into this project are Chilean company Navieras, Contreras Hermanos (Argentina), Mitsubishi (Japan) and Geodata (Italy). The work may get under way in 2012, but as yet no financing has been contracted.

The project, known as the Central Bioceanic Corridor (Corredor Bioceânico Central), is based on the assumption that 83% of the cargo which circulates between the two oceans bathing the Southern Cone is transported by sea. The road passage of Christ the Redeemer, along which five million tons of goods pass every year, closes for between 45 and 60 days between May and October because of the snow. This delays the routes and also makes logistics more expensive.

The project of Corporación América plans the construction of a railway and a tunnel at low altitude, between 1,544 and 2,435 meters above sea level, thereby reducing the time taken for crossing the cordillera to less than four hours. In addition, the plans include the unification of customs services and border processes.

For the Argentinean group, the possible demand for cargo is approximately 70 million tons per year, and should start at 15 million tons. More than just a connection between Argentina and Chile, Corporación América sees the corridor as a logistics axis for the Mercosur as a whole, making commerce easier between the Andean country and the four members of the Mercosur block, including Brazil.

This corridor, which has gained official support from Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, has a competing project, the road tunnel of Águas Negras, in the Province of San Juan. Corporación América says they are not mutually exclusive.