Los Lagos Regional Councilor, Rodrigo Wainraihgt, indicated that the municipality of Puerto Montt could lose its status as an international cruise destination when the Chacao Bridge is ready.
The Regional Councilor and president of the Infrastructure Commission, Rodrigo Wainraihgt, indicated that Puerto Montt it could lose its status as an international cruise destination once the Chacao Bridge is built.
The warning light was turned on by the Empormontt company, exposing the progress of the construction project of an international terminal before the aforementioned commission, where it was said that there is concern that the Chacao channel viaduct is a problem for the arrival of cruise ships.
“Regarding the expansion and development of what they are doing with the international terminal, they present the Chacao Bridge as a problem for the future. We asked them why, because we had previously had a meeting on the ground with the MOP where they told us that they had told us that there was no conflict, and they (the company) told us that yes, that they had a study in which the 33 % of cruise ships will not be able to pass to Puerto Montt if the bridge is built. This means that Puerto Montt could lose the tourist destination for cruise ships, since they would go directly to Punta Arenas”, Wainraihgt explained.
In addition, he added that when taking a future look, it is known that the industry is building larger ships in the world, therefore, the reality is complex for the regional capital of Los Lagos, since the operators could decide to set aside this destination.
In 2015, doubts about the project were present. The alert voice at that time was put up by the pilots, who assured that 65% of the ships would not be able to pass, however, technical reports from the Directorate of Roads, the General Directorate of the Maritime Territory and the Merchant Navy and the Association of Authorized Canal Pilots, said that the bridge will have the appropriate height for the operation of these ships.