Two recent developments confirm that Chile's public infrastructure agenda continues to move forward on parallel tracks, both aimed at attracting international capital and expertise: the conclusion of a European promotional roadshow for the new Prison Infrastructure Master Plan, and the launch of a prequalification process to design the future expansion of Santiago's Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (AMB).
A European Roadshow for the Prison Infrastructure Master Plan
As part of the government's strategy to expand the country's prison infrastructure through public-private partnerships and foreign investment, a delegation from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and InvestChile toured Madrid, London and Paris. The visit concluded on July 3, 2026 and was designed to present construction, engineering and consulting firms the investment and participation opportunities under Chile's new Prison Infrastructure Master Plan.
Eight construction, engineering and consulting firms took part in a roadshow held in Madrid, which was followed by separate bilateral meetings for those companies that had already shown concrete interest in investing in or executing the projects. In London, the delegation met with two companies involved in the construction and expansion of prison facilities and visited a prison currently under construction. In Paris, the delegation met with two companies already active in Chile's prison sector: Sodexo, which operates five concessioned prison facilities in the country, and Newrest, which supplies institutional catering services to the Chilean prison system.
For the Ministry of Justice and InvestChile, the roadshow is meant to keep international companies engaged as the Master Plan moves into its next stages.
These efforts coincide with a legislative change designed to shorten timelines for prison infrastructure projects. Law No. 21,783 introduces expedited permitting and administrative procedures for such projects and specifically eliminates the requirement to obtain an Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) for extensions of existing prisons. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights estimates that this change alone could cut more than 700 days from the development and construction schedule of these projects.
Prequalification Launched for the Third Concession of Santiago's Airport
A parallel development concerns the country's main airport. Ahead of tendering the consultancy that will design the reference project for the third concession of the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, the Directorate of Airports of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) opened, on July 21, 2026, a Special Prequalification Registry open to national and international consulting firms interested in developing the Reference Preliminary Design (Anteproyecto Referencial) that will serve as the basis for the airport's third concession, whose start is expected in 2038.
The consultancy itself is expected to be tendered during 2027, with a preliminary budget of approximately US$17 million and an estimated duration of 62 months. The resulting design is expected to set out the works and investments required for the airport to absorb passenger growth over the coming decades while sustaining its operational capacity in the long term.
Taken together, both processes point in the same direction: Chile is actively working to bring international consultants, contractors and operators into large-scale public infrastructure projects, whether through concession-based social infrastructure such as prisons, or through the long-term planning of strategic assets such as the country's main airport. This momentum is reinforced by a regulatory environment that is increasingly geared toward faster execution, as illustrated by Law No. 21,783, which streamlines permitting for prison infrastructure projects and signals a broader trend toward reducing bureaucratic timelines across Chile's public works sector. For foreign investors and service providers in the construction, engineering, design and operations sectors, both processes are worth following closely, as the prequalification and roadshow stages are typically where the terms of future tenders begin to take shape.
Nicolás Yuraszeck, Partner, Projects and Infrastructure, Prieto Abogados, nyuraszeck@prieto.cl