Sacyr keeps eyes on highways in Chile's next concessions cycle

Sacyr will keep focusing on highway projects during Chile's next concessions cycle, although projects in that cycle are still not advanced enough to be considered priorities.

A source close to the company told BNamericas that the Spanish firm plans to sell 49% of Sacyr Concesiones Chile, its local concessions unit. "The idea is, with those funds, to participate in this new concessions wave, as most of the projects that were awarded to Sacyr Concesiones Chile have finished its construction phase," the source said.

While it wasn't specified which concessions would change hands, the source added that "some adjustments" will be made in the contract that was awarded to a consortium made up of Sacyr Concesiones Chile and Agunsa to expand and operate El Tepual airport, near the southern city of Puerto Montt.

The source added that Sacyr has not yet decided on new projects because none is advanced enough, as the US$600mn Route 66 concession, whose tender has been delayed several times, shows.

"Sacyr's focus is on highway concessions and some other options, like hospitals or construction of other buildings," the source said.

The government of Sebastián Piñera is planning to re-tender the concessions of eight highway stretches, which entail a total length of around 1,500km and projected investments of around US$2.5bn from 2018 to 2022.

Sacyr Concesiones Chile currently has six highway concessions, plus the El Tepual airport and the Antofagasta Regional Hospital. It is also part of the consortium in charge of the US$940mn AVO I project, which is Sacyr's only highway project under construction, while the rest are in operation.