In May 2011, Puerto Lirquen Group won the 20-year concession of the government-owned public pier of San Antonio, renamed Puerto Central. Puerto Lirquen, listed on Santiago’s Stock Exchange, is controlled by Chile’s Matte and Angelini Groups, which own the country’s largest forestry companies, CMPC and Arauco.
Puerto Central has committed to invest a total of $320m for phases one and two that should be completed before 2015 and 2018 and that will include the construction of a 700 m pier in two stages and the dredging of a further 5 m to 15 m draught to reach 1m teu capacity. Last year, a strike by stevedores from former public pier over pension compensation delayed construction works on Puerto Central.
Across the channel from where is located Puerto Central lies San Antonio International (STI), a joint venture between Seattle-based SSA Marine and Chilean SAAM, which became the first terminal in Chile to break the million-teu milestone in the fourth quarter of 2012.
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