Skip to main content

Agreement between Chile and Argentina on tunnel route

The authorities in Chile and Argentina have signed a key agreement over the Agua Negra Tunnel project. This new tunnel will provide a new link between the two countries. The link is expected to feature a twin tube design and will connect the Argentinian province of San Juan and the Chilean IV Region of Coquimbo. The tunnel will form a crucial component in the Mercosur route. The new tunnel will be in the vicinity of the current Paso de Agua Negra border crossing. When it is complete, the planned Mercosur ro
January 21, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The authorities in Chile and Argentina have signed a key agreement over the Agua Negra Tunnel project. This new tunnel will provide a new link between the two countries. The link is expected to feature a twin tube design and will connect the Argentinian province of San Juan and the Chilean IV Region of Coquimbo. The tunnel will form a crucial component in the Mercosur route. The new tunnel will be in the vicinity of the current Paso de Agua Negra border crossing. When it is complete, the planned Mercosur route will provide a road link from Brazil’s Atlantic Coast ports of São Paulo and Porto Alegre to that of Chile’s port of Coquimbo, on the Pacific Coast. The tender process is being prepared at present and the schedule requires this to be launched by March of this year. Bidders will have around four months to tender for the work.

Related Content

  • Chile approves construction of the Agua Negra project through the Andes
    August 13, 2015
    Plans for a cross-continent upgraded road were recently boosted when Chile’s senate approved construction of its share of a major US$1.6 billion tunnel in the Andes Mountains. The Chilean approval comes after the Argentinian government gave the nod in March for construction on its section of the Agua Negra project. A tender for specific design work could be put out by September, according to the Argentinian newspaper Diario de Cuyo. The approvals resolve a number of bilateral issues including taxation
  • Additional Argentina-Chile tunnel project proposed
    January 9, 2015
    An agreement has been reached between Chile and Argentina over a long discussed tunnel project. The proposed tunnel would stretch 11.5km and connect Argentina’s Mendoza Province with Chile’s Region VI, with the project having first been mooted as far back as 1992. The cost of the proposed Paso Las Lenas Tunnel has yet to be revealed although the projected route through the Andes Mountains has been announced. The tunnel portals will be some 2,050m above sea level and the project will include the construction
  • New tunnel between Argentina and Chile proves strong attraction for contractors
    November 27, 2013
    Interest is strong in the project to build the 14km tunnel link between Chile and Argentina, with reports stating that 23 firms having expressed an interest in the work. The twin tube tunnel will connect Argentina’s San Juan Province with Chile’s Coquimbo Province (Region IV) and will be constructed in the Andes Mountains. The Agua Negra project is set to cost somewhere in the range from US$800 million to $1 billion, although the exact price of the project has yet to be determined. Some 72% of the link will
  • Paso de las Leña tunnel between Argentina and Chile
    December 22, 2016
    A new tunnel between Chile and Argentina will boost trade and transport between the two countries - Mauro Nogarin writes The international Tunnel Paso Las Leñas will stretch 11.5km at 2,050m above sea level through the Andes. Once complete, it will greatly improve the connectivity and integration between the Chilean O'Higgins region with the Argentine Mendoza region.