Epco expects investments to increase cargo transfers at Puerto Coquimbo

This 2026, Empresa Portuaria Coquimbo (Epco) has undergone an institutional transition stage, marked by the change of government authorities at national and local levels, in addition to a new board of directors at the helm of the state-owned company.

Although this is a period that may require adjustments or adaptations, Epco's focus remains on seeking new opportunities to increase the volume of cargo transiting through the maritime facility and to exceed the stable figures recorded so far.

Given this objective, the possibilities extend beyond the border, as Argentina offers a market that could see Puerto de Coquimbo as an outlet for its production abroad to the Pacific. Although the proposal is attractive, some challenges persist related to establishing a road axis that meets the needs of efficient international land transport.

Likewise, the focus is also on the improvements that have been made to the port facility to increase its operational capacity with a recently constructed berth and other works aimed at reinforcing the existing pier. In this regard, the general manager of Empresa Portuaria Coquimbo, Ernesto Piwonka, stated - within the framework of Enloce 2026 - to PortalPortuario that "we hope that the investments will translate into an increase in transfers."

It has been a special year for us. At the national level, we had a change of government, changes of different authorities with whom we deal directly, so that always generates a readjustment process from which we are already emerging. The issues continue their course, the new authorities have already taken the initiatives that were being worked on and with the corresponding emphasis we have continued the work, particularly in Coquimbo, within the framework of the City-Port Coordination Council, where an improvement to the access to Puerto de Coquimbo has just been approved, which will undoubtedly benefit the port in a couple of years.

The approved project is an improvement to road access, which has been long delayed. We were studying several more ambitious options, but for now, a more localized improvement will be made, but it is undoubtedly an improvement that the port had been waiting for and needed for a long time.

Cargo volumes at Puerto de Coquimbo have remained stable in recent years, at around 600,000 tons. We hope that the investments will translate into an increase in transfers. This also requires better positioning of other services that have not yet been consolidated, meaning more frequent shipping services, logistics services associated with cargo, so that this cargo has more possibilities of leaving through our port.

The problem with consolidating Argentine cargo through Coquimbo is that it requires a pass that is open longer and has more capacity. Today, the major interconnection project with Argentina through the Coquimbo Region is the Agua Negra tunnel project, but that is a very large project, so it will probably not be seen for several more years.

For us, we hope it will be done as soon as possible, but among the national priorities, it will probably not be one of the ones that will be executed soonest. So, in that sense, there is another project that can be done earlier, which is an improvement of the current Agua Negra pass. This involves improving some turning radii, reinforcing some embankments, some bridges, waiting areas for trucks, so that trucks can flow through the current pass, but under better conditions.

So, if that is achieved and public services also have better facilities to be at the pass and, ultimately, the pass opens more days a year, that allows logistical routes that are currently cut off to be consolidated. So that would facilitate the arrival of Argentine cargo at the port and in both directions.

It has happened on other occasions that, in scenarios of congestion in the central zone, cargo has arrived at Puerto de Coquimbo to try to reduce waiting times. This could also happen in this case, given that the port has the capacity to receive that cargo, so it is undoubtedly a possibility, and the port is prepared for that.

There are permanent work plans in terms of energy efficiency, for example, of the circular economy, which is maintained in any case. The big leap in environmental matters occurred when the port incorporated the capacity to transfer containers, because that allowed the copper concentrate that until then was transferred by belts, now to do so with tipping containers. So, environmentally that is another level, of course it is much better, there are practically no particulate matter emissions, so that greatly improved the environmental condition of the shipment of that cargo in the port.

There are always possibilities to do more in that regard. We, as a port, have had a relatively important level of calls at the national level, we are around 20 calls per year. However, in the last season we had a significant drop, nine cruise ships arrived in the recent season, not due to a local problem in Coquimbo, but due to a more global phenomenon that is affecting us as well.

This has to do with some itinerary cuts by cruise lines that, in the face of global crises that reduce passenger demand, begin to restrict some services and Chile is among those that were restricted. The reasons are part of what must be taken into consideration to be able to see what we are going to do in the future with that, we know that there is a problem with costs.

We are part of the Corporation of Ports of the Southern Cone and within that corporation, we have been part of the group that is working along those lines. The corporation has just carried out a cost study and with that, we can identify what are the main cost lines that we should aim to reduce as a country so that cruise ships continue to be interested in coming here, because ultimately it is not a cost issue, it is a profitability issue, of how much is left in the margin.

If we manage to reduce costs to a level that allows our margins to be competitive with other destinations that are similar to ours, that will make the lines maintain their interest in Chile and hopefully increase it.