As Chile prepares for pivotal elections, there is a sense of cautious optimism about the infrastructure sector’s future, with broad political consensus in the Andean country on the importance of public-private partnerships and other sector priorities. Infralogic’s Eva Lloréns takes the temperature of the market ahead of an election that could lead Chile in a different direction economically.

With Chilean elections scheduled for 16 November and President Gabriel Boric’s term nearing its end, the race to succeed him has drawn eight candidates from across the political spectrum.

Boric, a member of various left-wing parties and elected on the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) ticket, came into office in early 2022 promising radical change from the prior center-right presidency of Sebastián Piñera but ultimately found himself limited in what he could achieve during his four years in office.

Among the frontrunners to replace him, according to local polls are Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party, who served as Boric’s labor minister, Evelyn Matthei of the center-right Chile Vamos coalition, who lost to Michelle Bachelet in the 2013 runoff, and José Antonio Kast of the far-right Republican Party, who lost to Boric in the 2021 runoff. All the candidates, according to experts consulted for this piece, recognize the strategic role of infrastructure investment in driving economic growth and resilience.

Other candidates include Johannes Kaiser, also from the far-right; and Franco Parisi of the People’s Party (PDG), who is considered a populist. Additionally, there are independent candidates Marco Enríquez-Ominami, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, and Eduardo Artés.

“If you look at the political platforms of the leading presidential candidates, there is a consensus regarding the importance of the public-private partnership system,” Juan Carlos Valdivieso, a partner at Morales & Besa, told this publication.

Another Chile-based partner, Molina Ríos’ Felipe Correa, shared his cautious optimism about the investment climate. However, he cautioned that legal uncertainty could deter foreign investment. “The new government must send clear signals that Chile respects the rule of law and honors its commitments,” he said.

In mid-2024, the current administration abruptly announced proposals to reform the country’s energy markets in a fashion that was regarded as severely detrimental to the distributed generation (pequeños medios de generación y distribución- PMGD) sector. The legislation eventually passed but without the proposals to raise funds by curbing profits for small- and medium-sized generators.

Staying the course

Andrés Onetto, managing director at Rubicon Capital Advisors, pointed out that any change in administration necessarily introduces risks to project continuity, primarily due to political reshuffling and turnover within technical teams at the Ministry of Public Works (MOP), the energy coordinator, and environmental agencies.

These changes can delay critical decisions and extend approval processes. Onetto recommends practical mitigation strategies, such as preparing “ready-to-sign” dossiers, establishing binding timelines, and utilizing available technical panels early to resolve disputes. Nonetheless, he emphasized that Chile’s strong institutional framework—with clear concession rules and a functioning technical panel—helps ensure project continuity despite political risks. “In practice, a minor pre-election slowdown may be followed by a rebound, provided that post-election indications confirm the pipeline’s continuity,” he said.

According to Infralogic data, around 60 greenfield infrastructure and energy projects secured financing during Boric’s presidency from March 2022 to October of this year. However, experts describe his administration as failing to advance projects.

The electoral process has not disrupted existing contracts, Correa said, although some investors, particularly foreign ones, are adopting a wait-and-see approach. “Investment funds are holding back until the election results are clear,” he said.

The next administration must address significant concerns in the infrastructure sector, particularly reducing project development roadblocks, as projects often take years to complete, said Carlos Saieh, partner, CEO and head of infrastructure at local GP Toesca Asset Management. Nonetheless, he added that the advancement of energy storage solutions—especially battery energy storage systems (BESS)—is viewed positively, as it opens new market opportunities. Recently, Grenergy closed nearly USD 324m of green financing for the fourth phase of the Oasis de Atacama project in Chile.

While Chile is generally recognized for its legal stability, Correa raised concerns about delayed payments to construction companies under the current administration. “These obligations are being postponed for the new government, which undermines investor confidence,” he said.

What needs to be done

Reflecting on Boric’s government, Correa acknowledged the successful completion of several initiatives launched under the previous administration that were successfully inaugurated, such as the modernization of the Santiago airport and hospitals in Curico and Casablanca. Yet, he stressed that the real challenge lies in advancing long-term projects that can endure beyond political cycles. Among these, he pointed to the Santiago–Melipilla  and Santiago–Batuco trains, the rebidding of the Route 5 (Antofagasta-Caldera) road project, the South and Austral airport networks, and Metro Lines 6, 7, and 9. He also underscored the need for ring roads around Santiago to alleviate urban congestion in the capital and praised the Alto Hospicio–Iquique cable car as a notable urban mobility initiative.

Correa also emphasized the importance of strengthening social infrastructure particularly through the continuation of the country’s hospital concessions program and the construction of modern penitentiary centers, such as the High Security Prison (Santiago 1) and the Calama campus.

He noted that while energy and water security projects often fall outside the traditional scope of the Ministry of Public Works, they are increasingly vital and depend heavily on private investment. Initiatives in green hydrogen, non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE), desalination, and water treatment are essential pillars for Chile’s long-term sustainability.

Central to this transformation is the long-delayed Kimal–Lo Aguirre HVDC transmission line, the first of its kind in Chile. Awarded to a consortium including China Southern Power Grid, Interchile (a subsidiary of Colombia’s Interconexión Eléctrica SA), and Canadian pension fund-backed Transelec, the project is considered critical for relieving transmission bottlenecks and reducing energy curtailments. Onetto urged the government to expedite contractual and permitting milestones to ensure its timely execution and to unlock future investment opportunities. The project was tendered in 2021. It is seeking financing from different banks.

Valdivieso echoed this urgency, arguing that one of the priorities should be to continue expanding transmission systems. “Our electricity system and market have experienced too much change in a short period, which creates uncertainty. Stabilizing it is necessary, and one way to achieve this is by increasing transmission capacity and focusing on regulatory discussions,” he said.

In the water sector, the Coquimbo desalination plant—Chile’s first under a concession model—requires a competitive and realistic timeline for its completion, according to Onetto.

The Humboldt submarine cable, awarded in 2021 to Desarrollo País and BW Digital’s H2 Cable, a subsidiary of Singapore-based BW Digital, will be a strategic asset for expanding Chile’s digital infrastructure, Onetto added.

On the legislative front, to accelerate progress across sectors, Onetto advocated for leveraging existing public-private partnership frameworks and introducing regulatory adjustments to streamline permitting processes.

Saieh added that implementing laws like the Sectorial Authorizations Framework Law will be crucial to boosting investor confidence. The 122-page Sectoral Authorizations Framework Law, which went into effect on 1 October, introduces several changes, including a new digital one-stop platform for all permit applications and mandatory response deadlines for government agencies.

Taken together, the experts consulted for this piece anticipate a strategic pivot toward transmission investment and battery energy storage due to ongoing energy curtailments, growing water scarcity, and the expansion of digital infrastructure that will in part be driven by the Humboldt cable and the wider adoption of cloud services.

Project Financing

While investor interest remains strong in financing Chilean projects, bottlenecks persist in permitting timelines and land easements, the experts noted.

Under Boric’s administration, Infralogic tracked USD 34.23bn of debt across 124 transactions, including approximately USD 12bn in debt raised across some 53 renewables projects, USD 4.4bn in nine environmental (water and desalination projects);  USD 3.4bn in 22 transport projects, and USD 3.1bn in power projects (electricity transmission, coal-fired and battery storage).

Signaling that Chile respects the rule of law must be a top priority to enhance investor confidence, whoever wins, Correa stated.

Also, the investment climate could improve significantly within days of the election if the next administration confirms the continuity of Ministry of Public Works (MOP) projects, provides regulatory clarity for energy storage investments, and maintains momentum in the digital agenda, Onetto said.

Innovative financing models are being evaluated, including project bonds in inflation-indexed units (UF), green bonds for transmission and water portfolios, blended finance with development finance institution (DFI) guarantees for desalination, and capacity-based structures for energy storage.

Valdivieso highlighted how some political candidates have proposed drafting tax incentives to promote private investment.

However, Saieh noted that the proper execution of the pension reform enacted last year that requires employers to make mandatory contributions to the mixed pension system, could trigger more investments in infrastructure, as pension funds provide much of the long-term capital the sector needs. “We still have to see how this reform unfolds,” Saieh concluded. Following a legal challenge related to its approval process, the pension law has yet to go into effect as it is waiting for a decision from the Constitutional Court to rule its constitutionality.

From the mouths of surrogates

During a recent televised debate, several of the campaign’s senior advisors debated their candidate’s policies.

Luis Eduardo Escobar, a Chilean economist supporting Jara’s candidacy; Martín Arrau, who spoke on behalf of Kast; and Clemente Pérez, who spoke on behalf of Matthei, vowed to make changes to the National Monuments Council and to the Environmental Evaluation Service, both of which they said have be hindering the construction of new infrastructure. Projects before the National Monuments Council (CMN) and the Environmental Assessment Service (SEIA) suffer delays because of limited resources or outdated legal frameworks. The CMN deals with archaeological discoveries during construction, which legally require work to stop until the findings are assessed and often takes up to 900 days to process applications.

The SEIA’s environmental assessment process is criticized for excessive bureaucracy, with average evaluations taking over 800 days. While public opposition doesn’t automatically block a project, strong social and environmental resistance tends to prolong the review timeline.

Some of the changes proposed by the candidates include imposing limited terms for the entities to approve projects and simplifying the processes.

Arrau took the opportunity to stress the urgent need to simplify and ease regulations, saying that a Kast administration would propose changes to the Lafkenche Law, which seeks to protect the territorial rights of indigenous groups. Escobar said Jara is not focused on eliminating regulations but would prioritize streamline permitting.

Pérez said Matthei plans to promote 30 public-private partnership projects, develop eight new reservoirs and build 30 new hospitals, while Arrau said his candidate has vowed to move forward some 60 infrastructure projects currently stuck in permitting. Escobar said Jara plans to focus on renewable energy, lithium, mining, telecommunications, and transportation infrastructure projects.