The national highway directorates of Argentina and Chile have kicked off the tender process for a feasibility study of a traffic tunnel between the two countries. The tunnel will span centre-north Chile's Region IV and Argentina's San Juan province. Six Argentine firms and six Chilean firms were invited to submit bids under a closed tender process. Offers are due next month and a winner will be selected by June. Names were not released. The tunnel would be built at the Aguas Negras border pass, 4,000 m-high in the Andes mountains, while the alternative would entail fully paving the existing road. Results should be ready by year-end. The tunnel's estimated price tag is US$30 million but the final cost will depend on a number of variables such as geotechnical details and whether the tunnel will be three, four or five km-long. If built, the tunnel will be financed on the two countries' US$400 million border crossings and integration corridors programme. The Inter-American Development Bank approved a US$200 million loan for the programme in December 2000, while the Japan Bank for International Cooperation is providing US$120 million and local counterpart funds the remainder. 18/03.According to a preliminary technical study just submitted, the 14 km tunnel between Argentina and Chile will cost over USD250 million. The idea is to finance the project via a concession. The tunnel would guarantee year-round passage between both countries. The current Aguas Negras border pass, 4,000 m-high in the Andes, is subject to closures during the winter. The tunnel is considered as a key link for pushing forward the bi-oceanic corridor between Chile's Region IV port Coquimbo and Brazilian port Porto Alegre. The project would also include an access tunnel which would be used for maintenance and act as an escape route. 23/04.China and Argentina signed on 29th June an agreement in principle for building a 13.9 km tunnel across the Andes on a visit of president Nestor Kirchner to Beijing. The tunnel, which will cross five Argentinian provinces, will be built some 800 m below the present crossing at Aguas Negras Pass in San Juan. The tunnel, which is part of the central bi-oceanic corridor between Porto Alegre in Brazil and Coquimbo in Chile, is designed to shorten considerably the distance between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and boost Argentinian soya and fruit exports to China, permitting and all-weather link by avoiding passage through the Cristo Redendor cross-border tunnel in Mendoza between Argentina and Chile, which is sometimes closed during winter thereby crippling hundreds of trucks on both sides of the Andes. The tunnel's cost estimate reaches USD250 million and it will be constructed by China National Overseas Engineering Corp. and the Fourth Engineering Bureau at an estimated time frame of 68 months once the final agreement is signed. Click ar/20 & cl/24. 29/04.

Tenders for 14 km-long tunnel expected H2/2010 for award by bi-national committee in 2011 and completion in 4-5 years. Budget estimate EUR390 million. Key funding agreed with national development bank BNDES of Brazil. For project history visit tunnelbuilder archive ar/20. 37/10.

The governments of Argentina and Chile received 23 expressions of interest for the bi-tube 13.9 km-long Agua Negra trans-Andean road tunnel project. The companies are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Italy, Korea and other countries. The tunnel will link Argentina's San Juan province with Chile's Coquimbo region (region IV). The bilateral body Ebitan will produce a list of pre-qualifiers over the coming weeks for a tender process set to begin next year. Click here for more info on the project and ar/20 and cl/24 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit

http://www.ebitan.org/ebitan/descargas/resultadoActoApertura.pdf. 45/13.

Notice of qualification system, deadline 08.02.2017, for the design and construction of the 13.9km international Agua Negra Pass tunnel. The bidding will take place at the beginning of 2018 and construction will begin between the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, with an estimated duration of 9 years. Contact EBITAN, attn Enrique Alvarez Jaque, Santiago de Chile, tel 56-2-24493002, email enrique.alvarez@mop.gov.cl. Visit http://www.ebitan.org/descargas/pliegoPrecalificacion.pdf. 02/17.

EBITAN announced the 10 consortiums, composed of  29 companies from China, Italy, Spain, Argentina and Chile, pre-qualified for the design and construction of the 13.9km international Agua Negra Pass tunnel: Consortium CRS, including Consortium China Railway Tunnel Group Co Ltd, Benito Roggio e hijos SA, Ingenieria y Construccion Sigdo Koppers SA; Consortium Astaldi SPA, FCC Construccion SA and Rivas SA; Consortium China Railway Construccion CO and Panedile SA; Consortium Power China LTDA and Sacde SA; Consortium CCCC and JCR SA; Consorzio Dragados SA, Technit SA and Besalco SA; Salini Impregilo SpA; Consortium OHL SA, Condotte SpA and Rovella SA; Consortium Strabag, JCC SA and Obras Subterraneas SA Agencia Chile; Consortium SCCM Tunel Agua Negra, including Sacyr Construccion SA, SK Engineerind & Construction Co LTD, CMC and ICM SA.  Contact EBITAN, attn Enrique Alvarez Jaque, Santiago de Chile, tel 56-2-24493002, email enrique.alvarez@mop.gov.cl. Visit http://www.regionbinacional.com/home/10-consorcios-interesados-en-tunel-agua-negra/ and http://www.ebitan.org. 32/17.