Empresa Portuaria Valparaíso (EPV) will start this Monday, January 11, a bidding process called transition for the delivery to a new operator of this infrastructure, which is expected to be operating during the second half of 2021. This action carried out by EPV seeks to ensure that operational continuity is maintained at Terminal 2 in Valparaíso – Espigón, a site under the responsibility of the concessionaire Terminal Cerros de Valparaíso (TCVAL), whose concession contract expires in April 2021. Javiera Perales, manager of Development and Concessions of Valparaiso Port, said that this “is a very important tender because it allows the operational continuity of the Espigón, maintaining the levels of efficiency and employment stability achieved by the current concessionaire, which is tremendously relevant to offer smooth transfer operations. The executive added that this process does not contemplate infrastructure investment, only in equipment, which could increase the interest among the port actors given the current levels of efficiency and priority of the fractioned cargo that moves through Terminal 2. In relation to the working conditions of the port workers in Terminal 2, Perales said that “this point is very important and I want to emphasize that we are working on an agreement with the port workers who work in Terminal 2 so that the conditions currently agreed with the concessionaire TCVAL, through Agreements for the Provision of Jobs, are maintained with the entry of the new concessionaire. The transition concession will be valid for four years, since, as indicated by Javiera Perales, “the concession period must take into account two elements, the first, that the contract to be delivered is attractive for a private operator and, on the other hand, it must also give enough time to clarify the future of the Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) of the Terminal 2 project and the port expansion of Valparaiso. According to our analysis, four years allow us to fulfill both objectives”. “At the same time, it provides the appropriate temporary space to design a second process, also very attractive and after a dialogue with the city,” added the manager. With respect to the conditions established by the TDLC for the T2 bid and which it has proposed to maintain for this transitional bid, unless they are modified by the Court, any controller of other terminals in the region could participate; however, as explained by the EPV’s Development and Concessions manager, these “fall into the category of incumbents and as such, a new entrant has the right to match its bid in the event that one of them is the winner of the bidding process. **Source: PortalPortuario.cl
