How to Invest in Chile: The Public Concession System in Chile

Foreign investors in Chile may participate in the tenders issued by the Public Works Ministry and win contracts if they submit the best bid.  

One of the options that foreign companies have for investing in Chile is through the public concessions system, which is supervised by the Public Works Ministry. There are national and international tenders, and the MOP may pre-qualify companies or consortia when the works are particularly large, complex or expensive. 

Concession contracts are used for sectors such as infrastructure and services; interurban and urban roads, airports, hospitals, prisons; and transportation infrastructure such as public transportation corridors, intermodal stations and Transantiago transfer stations, irrigation works and public buildings. 

The ministry is currently working on the 2019–2023 concession schedule, which includes the public and private initiatives to be tendered during this five-year period. Examples include:  

• Longitudinal connectivity: Refers to projects involving Route 5 (Chile’s principal north-south highway). 
• Urban mobility and public transportation: Refers to works that improve public transportation such as trams, cable cars, trains and other vehicles. 
• Airport connectivity: Refers to the structure of an airport network that includes new airport and airfield concessions. 
• Social infrastructure: Refers to tenders for 18 facilities, which are part of the MOP's second hospital concession program. 
• Infrastructure for efficient water use: Refers to the development of reservoirs and other works that will improve water resource use. 

Would you like to find out more about the public concession system in Chile? Download the chapter of our step-by-step guide for Foreign Investors. Other chapters of the guide also contain useful information about Labor Laws, Taxes and Environmental Assessment.