Spain's OHL Concesiones said on Tuesday it won the bidding for the rights to operate terminal 2 concession at Chile's Port of Valparaiso for 30 years. The project requires an investment of more than 270 million euros ($350 million).

The Spanish company said in a statement that it beat out the consortium formed by Chile's contractor Besalco, Chile's Grupo Empresas Navieras and U.S.-based Ports America.

The general offers met the requirements and the financial offers were opened yesterday, April 2, by Empresa Portuaria Valparaiso vice president Sergio Nuñez and general manager Harald Jaeger.

According to the schedule set by the Empresa Portuaria de Valparaíso (EPV) for the tender process of Valparaiso terminal 2 concession, March 20th was the last day for firms currently involved in the operation of port terminals to submit their proposals but none of them showed interest.

OHL Concesiones said it would probably assume control of the terminal in October, taking over general cargo handling. The facility should be in operation in four years, OHL said.

The new terminal, which will help double the port's capacity, is designed to process imports and exports, with the ability to handle two Super Post Panamax ships simultaneously, the Spanish company said. The new terminal will handle freighters and cruise ships.

Terminal 2, which will cover 13.6 hectares (33.5 acres), will be able to handle approximately 950,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of containers and 1.2 million tons of general cargo.

Sources: OHL & InfraPPP