Chilean region to resubmit EIA for waste management project

A US$20mn project to install a waste management facility in Chile’s Magallanes region has been temporarily withdrawn from environmental evaluation by the local government.

“It was withdrawn to complement background information, but it will be resubmitted,” a spokesperson for the country’s southernmost region told BNamericas.

The original environmental impact assessment described the project as a solid waste management facility that would have a landfill, recycling, biogas management, leachate treatment and waterproofing systems, and storage for hazardous waste.

Designed to receive up to 275t/d, it would mainly serve regional capital Punta Arenas and the nearby municipalities of Laguna Blanca, Río Verde, San Gregorio and Cabo de Hornos.

More than a year after Chile held its first regional governors election, local governments are taking their first steps into the structuring of water and infrastructure projects, while PPPs are also explored in the case of the Santiago Metropolitan region. 

The Magallanes waste management project marked the first time since the May 2021 election that a regional administration submitted a project for environmental evaluation, according to data from evaluation agency SEA.