Empresa Portuaria Coquimbo Aims to Increase Volumes with New Investments — DataPortuaria

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

While this is a period that may require adjustments or adaptations, Epco’s focus remains on seeking new opportunities to increase the volume of cargo passing 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 the Port of Coquimbo as an outlet for its production abroad via the Pacific. Although the proposal is attractive, some challenges remain related to establishing a road axis that meets the needs of efficient international land transport.

Likewise, the focus is also on the improvements 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.”

How has this year been for Empresa Portuaria Coquimbo?

It has been a special year for us. At the national level, we had a change of government, changes in different authorities with whom we deal directly, so that always generates a readjustment process from which we are already emerging. Issues are progressing, the new authorities have already taken up the initiatives that were being worked on and with the appropriate emphasis, we have continued the work, particularly in Coquimbo, within the City-Port Coordination Council, where an improvement to the access to the Port of 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 overdue. We had been 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 needing for a long time.

Regarding operational levels, how have cargo volumes behaved?

Volumes at the Port of 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 other services that have not yet been consolidated to be better positioned, meaning more frequent shipping services, logistics services associated with cargo, so that this cargo has more possibilities of leaving through our port.

You have also had conversations in Argentina to attract cargo from that market. How is the progress of that idea?

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 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 same current pass, but in better conditions.

So, if that is achieved and also if public services 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.

Do you see congestion situations in the central zone or the closure of the Los Liberadores pass for more than a month as factors that could boost the Port of Coquimbo as an alternative outlet for international cargo?

It has happened on other occasions that, in scenarios of congestion in the central zone, cargo has arrived at the Port of 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 a possibility, without a doubt, and the port is prepared for that.

In the environmental field, what is Empresa Portuaria Coquimbo working on?

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 copper concentrate, which until then was transferred by conveyor belts, to now 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 at the port.

In terms of cruises, what opportunities do you see to improve or boost this segment?

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

What is the reason for this phenomenon?

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 needs to be taken into consideration 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 Corporación de Puertos del Cono Sur, 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 the main cost lines that we should aim to reduce as a country so that cruises continue to be interested in coming here, because ultimately it is not a matter of cost, it is a matter of profitability, of how much is left in the margin.

If we manage to reduce costs to a level that allows margins to be competitive with other destinations similar to ours, that will keep lines interested in Chile and hopefully increase it.